Soul Exorcism
by snowbunnie13
Summary: Fourth in the Soul Equilibrium series. "The next scythe..my inheritance..finds comfort in the black and white keys..green eyes..when he is ready, green eyes..black keys, black blood, the Evans Curse..bright, green eyes..
1. Chapter 1

Soul Exorcism

Chapter one: Surprise! What is the ultra-super-important Big Day?

Hurray for the fourth in the series! Make sure you at least read my story "Soul Trance" before reading this one or else things won't make sense at all…

For Soul, there were two ways for him to wake up in the morning: either cool or uncool. A long time ago, a cool morning meant no Blaire pouncing on him in the morning, earning him a Maka-chop for no reason other than the tendency for blood to trickle down his nose. Now, a cool morning actually _meant_ for him to open his eyes and see Maka's face. Soul always 'forgot' to turn his alarm clock on, so whenever she would 'sleep over' he'd always have a few minutes just to watch her sleep.

No, no! He didn't mean it like he was a pervert! Her face was just so peaceful in the mornings…

But anyway, today was one of those cool mornings where the first thing he wonders was how he was able to sleep in such a mangled and twisted position. His back hurts and one arm's asleep, but it's worth it—there's another body here caught in the same situation. It is Maka's legs that are tangled with his, her steady breath he can feel on his chest, and that's her hair that is glowing from some sunlight. The shutters of his window were slightly cracked open.

He should know by now that he doesn't have much time to _not act like a perv, _because Maka's eyes were going to open soon.

They'd been dating for at least a couple years…how many was it again? Soul couldn't remember how many Maka-Chops he got for forgetting anniversaries.

Anyway, during the past couple years, random nights he would turn off the TV, head to his room, and find Maka there. She just wanted to sleep next to him. He had no idea why, but he didn't care. Yes, yes, they've slept next to each other before—but only in hotel rooms when they'd go on missions, or that one time where they visited Soul's family and stayed in his room. During the last couple of months, her "sleepovers" were becoming very frequent. _Every day _frequent.

When their friends first heard the word "sleepover" they immediately drew the conclusion that it was code for sexy fun times. They promptly denied such a preposterous idea, even though sometimes…occasionally…rarely it was. Very rarely. Maka wasn't naïve enough to not know what Soul wanted. She saw it every time in his eyes when she would push him away.

But she was aware—very much so—that he only wanted to do these things because he loved her, truly and genuinely loved her.

Last night, too, was one of those nights when they went a little farther. He would begin by whispering in her ear, "I love you". He'd press his lips behind her ear and down her chin. If he was lucky, she might make a little noise when he would nip at her skin with his sharp teeth, but this was usually where she'd protest, "Stop it Soul! Please."

Last night, she felt a spark of electricity go throughout her entire body. He kissed her longer and deeper, running his hands to her shoulders. Her hands, too, had moved from their station at his neck down to his chest.

"Love you _so much." _ Soul sighed. He moved faster. His intense lip-lock distracted Maka from his fingers, which were fiddling with the buttons on Maka's shirt, working from the bottom up. She's always been fascinated by the feeling of his tongue in her mouth, the foreign object dancing around her own.

"You too." She said when they pulled away for a nanosecond to breathe. Before she knew it his hands were roaming around her skin. She became hyperaware of his bare chest—his normal sleepwear for hot summer evenings only included a pair of sleep pants—and the heat he seemed to emit.

And now he watched her, looking lovingly. "Angel…"

"Soul?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes open. The action was endearing to Soul, but the accusation that came out of her mouth next definitely dampened his good mood. "You weren't watching me sleep again, were you? _Were you?" _

"Of course not! I just woke up a few seconds earlier than you did! Honest!"

"You're such a pervert." She frowned, noticing her buttons weren't in their correct holes.

"But I'm your pervert." He joked.

Maka rolled her eyes dramatically. "Yeah. I'm going to go make breakfast."

"K. I'll be there in a few minutes." As was his habit, he walked over to his desk and crossed off yesterday's date on his calendar. He figured this action would help him remember those damned anniversaries, but he always forgot to write them on there. "Oh dear Shinigami…" He muttered when he realized the event he'd scribbled down on today's box.

_Maka's Deathscythe Ceremony aka the Big Day_

Shit. This day was even more important than the day they officially started "dating". Today was the _biggest day ever. _

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Soul whispered to himself, flying over to dig through what was supposed to be his closet. He figured the disaster zone would be the best hiding spot—Maka wouldn't even dare try to clean it out. But he just had to check something. "Ah, there it is…phew…" he sighed of relief.

"Heeey Soul! Do you remember what today is?" Maka jumped up and down in jubilation when he joined her in the kitchen. "It's the day I officially become a deathscythe!"

"Y-yeah!" Soul said a little strangely. Maka twisted her face; wasn't he happy? They've been waiting for this day for years!

"_And _you'll be a really cool three-star meister." She thought maybe his half-hearted agreement was because she didn't mention his promotion too. "Soul, what's wrong? You've been acting weird lately. Can't you tell me what's wrong?"

"I'll tell you what's wrong . . . later."

"Does this have to do with the ceremony? 'Cause if you wrecked something, I _will _kill you." She could almost imagine him, accompanied by Black*Star, creating a mess in the Death Room where the ceremony was to take place. Just last night she tried to help Kid set up the chairs, but she gave up when he complained about the symmetry.

"Yes, I mean no, I mean, maybe . . . you'll find out! It's a surprise! A really, really cool one!"

"You know I hate surprises, especially ones from you." His surprises often included stupid pranks that he liked to pull, again, usually with Black*Star. (Occasionally Kid, if making their whole apartment unsymmetrical counted as a prank…how or why Kid did that was a mystery.)

"Trust me, you'll like this one! I promise!"

"The last time you said that I'd like it you stole all my books and forced me to play basketball with you guys. Remember? You said that I'd like the sunshine." She reminded him.

"OK, _maybe_ I lied about that one, but you'll really like this one!" He admitted, stuffing a piece of toast down his throat and chasing it down with coffee. "AH! Hot!"

"You are an idiot, you know that?"

"Well, at least it didn't burn my tongue this time."

"Congratulations, Soul Eater, for creating my next deathscythe, Maka Albarn." Kid said behind his podium. He had dark circles under his eyes, probably due to being in charge of decorations, which were quite extravagant.

Maka smiled up at Soul, whose face was a deathly white. Was Mr. Cool acting nervous? He'd been acting strangely for a week now . . . or could it be that he was feeling sick? Soul didn't get sick often. Was this something to do with his "surprise?"

"T-thank you, Shinigami Kid, but I believe I may have heard you wrong." Soul stuttered, aware of the audience's confusion. Everyone at the Academy had shown up for the ceremony; Maka and Soul were legends, after all, especially among the younger students.

"Soul, don't mess up the ceremony!" Maka hissed. She didn't wear those high-heel shoes for nothing! If he _had_ set up some sort of prank, _someone _would have a target on their head saying, 'chop me here!'

"I'm not; I'm making it more interesting!" Soul said, and continued after a gulp, "I said I may have misheard because I was w-wondering if maybe . . . you'd like to be Deathscythe Maka E-Evans instead. Um, oh right,"—he quickly dropped to one knee and pulled out the ring he'd hidden in his closet for a month and a half—"Will you marry me?"

The crowd aww'd at the nervous young man, and Spirit fainted.

"You are so uncool, Soul. Geez, if you were going to get this nervous you shouldn't have asked me in front of all these people! Of course I will!"

Spirit fainted again when she smashed their faces together. Black*Star wolf-whistled until they pulled apart and Maka tugged the ring on her finger.

"Best. Deathscythe Ceremony. Ever." Maka said. Clasping hands, they danced down the aisle that separated two giant columns of foldable chairs full of people cheering. Soul had a goofy smile which revealed his sharp teeth.

The smile reduced itself to a nervous grin when Deathscythe Spirit Albarn approached the couple. Maka, still walking on air, wrapped her arms around her father and squeezed tightly. He was surprised at first, but hugged her back in the special way only a father could. She stood on her tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek.

"You. You're supposed to ask for my blessing first." He addressed Soul.

"But you would have said no…don't you hate me or something?"

"WHAT? You're the only man I'd allow my darling Maka to marry!" He admitted. "And I don't _hate _you."

"Whoa whoa whoa. Hold on. Since when was this?" Soul asked incredulously. Maka, meanwhile, had returned to his side. She rested her head on his shoulder like she would when falling asleep during one of Soul's "stupid" action movies.

"I knew you were a good guy ever since you protected her from the demon sword. The way she held your hand all the way on the plane ride back…well, it showed me how strong of a bond you have with my baby. But if you slip up _just once, _I will drive my scythe blade right through your chest, do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, sir." Soul promised with the air of a soldier, complete with a two-fingered salute.

"And I want grandkids. A whole _bunch _of them! Oh, I can just picture it! Me telling stories to a bunch of little baby Makas! They'd say, 'oh, I love you grandpa!'" Spirit got that stupid dreamy face again. "By the way, son, what did you say your last name was? You said it differently up there on the stage. Hey! That's right! I have a son!"

"It's Evans, sir…" Soul said after a very embarrassing pause after mentioning grandchildren and Spirit calling him "son".

"Evans. Evans. I've heard that name before." His tone had changed.

"We're known for our music." Soul offered. He was getting nervous for some reason. It was just his _name, _for crying out loud! Maybe he was mad that he went by Soul Eater at school? _He _didn't think it was that big of a deal, and neither did Maka…in fact, she was highly amused by it.

"Yes, Papa! Soul used to play the piano with his family. Didn't I tell you? He's so talented!" She praised.

"…Yes. I've heard that name before though." He walked off, deep in thought perhaps. Contemplating to such a degree was weird for him, but today was an admittedly weird day.

"Papa?" Maka called. "Oh, don't mind him, Soul. You know how he gets."

Soul didn't have much time to think about Spirit's odd behavior after learning his surname, because his friends were surrounding him.

"SOUL! Why didn't you tell your God that you were going to get hitched?" Black*Star confronted him.

"Because you would have told everybody, and Maka would have found out, and then it would all be ruined!" Soul explained. "I wanted it to be a surprise, y'know, the one surprise that she was gonna like."

"You didn't tell me either…" Kid complained. "Your proposal messed up my speech; I'd like you to know." We all know how much Kid hates to be interrupted during a speech. He figured that this one would go without a disturbance, since it was about Maka and Soul. Maka knew better, and she would keep Soul in line.

"Yeah, well, even if you knew it was coming, your speech would have been messed up." Soul pointed out.

"Oh, don't get mad, Kid! I think it made your speech much more interesting!" Maka comforted. Everyone else agreed with her, probably to make sure the Shinigami didn't start any discussions over the significance of symmetry in a proposal or something of equal irrelevance. Whatever it was for, it worked.

The girls of their little group were talking to Maka, asking things like if she saw it coming (no) or what was going through her mind when he started to stutter (I honestly felt like murdering him in his sleep!)

"So I guess we'll have to call you Mrs. Maka Eater now?" Liz said in a light and cheery voice. It reminded Maka of whenever the pistol would have a shopping spree. These visits to the mall were exhausting to Maka.

"Maka Eater! Maka's eating herself!" Patti laughed childishly.

"Er, no, I'll be Maka Evans, not Eater." Maka corrected. "Maka Eater sounds weird."

"Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Evans, eh? Sounds cool to me." Soul said, shepherding Maka out of the Death Room. He wanted to celebrate without their pestering friends. In a way quite like one of those romantic comedies he knew Maka liked to watch, they snuck their way out of the crowd of people wanting to congratulate them.

"What'd he just say?" Black*Star asked. "Who the hell is Solomon Evans?"

"Sooollllomon Eeeevans!" Patti laughed, not really understanding.

"Say that again, Patti." Kid said, thinking he was on to something, but came up with nothing.

Tsubaki giggled. "Don't you guys get it? Soul goes by a nickname to make him sound 'cooler'. You know how he is."

"Yes, he wasn't graced with a godly name like Black*Star." The wanna-be god proclaimed. "I'm going to make fun of him later."

"Please don't, Black*Star! That might make him mad…" The ninja weapon pleaded to her partner. "Promise me you won't bug him too much right now."

"Hmm. I'll try my best, but as soon as this wedding thing is over I'll laugh!" Black*Star compromised.

…

Meanwhile, Deathscythe Spirit Albarn was up in the Shibusen library. The name "Evans" struck a chord with him, and he wasn't sure why it sounded so familiar. He didn't listen to music much (which may or may not explain Maka's bad taste in music, except when it came to Soul's piano playing), so he knew it was something more than that. Using the new computers Kid installed, he was able to find the book about Weapon Families easily. Strange…it was on the second-level floor, reserved for level two and up weapon and meisters. It looked harmless enough…

Evans…Evans…aha!

"_One of the 7 Great Weapon Families is the Evans family. They share a common characteristic of having a red and black pattern on their weapon forms, known as the Evans Coloring. As humans, men in the family are white haired and red eyed, but any member, male or female that has the weapon gene has sharp teeth. _

_They are descendants of the fourth of the Seven Families of Weapons, giving them a scythe-type weapon form. They are often considered the most beautiful of the weapon forms, because all are highly ornamented and often shine of gold. _

_However, because their weapon gene is recessive, there are less and less scythes born. This is different from the Natkatsuka family, where every child is born a weapon. _

_The Evans family had royalty status and had possession of some land in England. They owned many estates throughout Europe and enjoyed the good life. _

_The family did not follow the path of having every weapon of the family fight with Shinigami. It was their tradition to send only one child a generation to train. They would choose the child based on their personality but would often choose a male heir over a female one, even if he was timid._

_Children not chosen were gifted in the musical arts, so they were also known for their musical achievements as well as their powerful weaponry. As the amount of scythes born declined, it appeared like the Fourth Great Family had finally disappeared and had been replaced with music."_

Ah, that made sense. Spirit always wondered why the boy's scythe form was so…pretty compared to the others. And the thing about the music made sense too, from what Soul and Maka told him.

"_-The great comeback of the Evans family-_

_After generations of no scythes, Peter Evans was born with the gene. It seemed like the potency of the blood had grown in the time of its last presence, and it was clear that the boy would be powerful. He entered the Shibusen Europe Branch at the age of thirteen and graduated with full honors. His meister partner, Tina, fulfilled her mission of turning Peter into a deathscythe after three years of training. The two got married soon after, and began their career Kishin hunting in the streets of London. He was known among the villains as the "white haired reaper" and was greatly respected among the other Kishin hunters. _

_On their last mission before they would retire, the deathscythe, probably because of his fight with the witch, lost his weapon form completely. He drove himself into madness, mourning his abilities, and it was said that he played out his sorrow on a dark piano tucked in a hidden room of the Evans Manor. After he died, a music score was found hidden in the piano bench. _

_At the end, scribbled at the bottom were some strange words that no one seemed to fully understand. "The next scythe . . . my inheritance . . . finds comfort in the black and white keys . . . green eyes . . . when he is ready, green eyes . . . black keys, black blood, the Evans Curse . . . bright, green eyes . . . an eater of souls to fight the madness . . . a warrior to conquer the past" Historians believe that the message was written during the last moments of his insanity, and that he may have seen a vision of a future Evans child to have the Weapon Gene, but this seems highly unlikely."_

Poor guy, Spirit thought. If he lost his weapon abilities like that poor man did, he would probably drive himself into insanity too. It would be like torture! It would be like Stein operating on him all the time again! Spirit shuddered; he still bore a fear of his former meister.

Trying to forget about mismatched toes and brand-new scars, he kept reading.

"_The Albarn family: a love story worthy of Shakespeare_

_The Albarn family is related to the fifth of the Great Weapons. They have a scythe-type weapon form, causing their long-standing rivalry with the Evans family. The Albarn scythes, however, do not share the elaborate colorings that the Evans' do. They usually have a wood staff instead of metal and plain, black metal for the blade. _

_In the Weapon world, their war could be compared to the love story of Romeo and Juliet—simply because it was inspired by it. _

_During the 1500's, all seven Great Families were against each other. The Albarn and Evans families were especially hostile, because their weapon types were the same. Often did the two families argue over which scythe was the most powerful. The Albarns argued that the Evans' decorations hindered their strength. The Evans family often referred to the Albarns as the "All Boring"._

_This fight escalated in 1591 when Juliet Albarn and Romeo Evans fell in love at a party held by Shinigami himself. When their parents found out, fights broke out, and many lives were lost on both sides._

_Juliet obtained a potion made by a witch that was supposed to take away their weapon forms. Thinking that if they were normal humans they would be allowed to be together, Juliet took the potion, which turned out to be poison. Romeo, rushing in, despaired over his lover's death and took the poison too. Their sacrifice ended the feud when the two families realized that love was more important than weapon forms."_

"Hehe, I remember that!" Spirit laughed. "Good times…" The Romeo and Juliet story was told during a famous meister and weapons lecture. Spirit remembered it only because he got lots of girls afterwards. They all claimed that he must be _so romantic, _if his ancestors were the inspiration for such a romantic story. Of course, Spirit played off of this as long as he could, even though he was related to Juliet, not Romeo.

Sometimes he could be such an idiot.

_Sometimes?_

Always.

…

…

…

"You've got Granny's book open again. What's it about anyway?" Soul peered over Maka's shoulder.

"It's amazing! It's actually more of a diary than a book." She explained.

"Should you read somebody else's diary? It's private."

"Since when do you care about rules?"

Observations of the Soul Exorcist

Entry 1…

I came here to learn how to use my talents, not write a freaking diary. I haven't written a diary since I was ten. But if it's "essential to my training" I guess I'll try it. Um, I'll start with why I'm writing this damn thing.

It all started two weeks ago. I woke up and knew it was going to be one of those days when I felt…off. Days like this are terrible, but at least I didn't have work today. I hear a white noise in my head, which is annoying, but the improvement in sight is handy. I wear glasses normally, but on "off days" I suddenly have 20/20 vision. That _should _make me happy, but I also see these things, I call them spirits.

I sit outside and watch everybody walk by. I can hardly see their bodies, because all I can see is their spirits, because everybody has one in their chest. Nobody believes me, and I don't blame them. It's weird.

So I'm sitting on a bench in the park when the man sitting in the bench across from me looks at me, and then comes over to talk. I told him to leave me alone, but instead he says, "you can see souls?"

"What?" I said.

"These, you can see these." He placed a palm over his chest. "They look like spheres of light."

"…Yes." I don't know why I told him. Maybe I was just tired of having people not believe me. Maybe, since he obviously knew something about them, he could tell me how to stop it.

"My name is Oliver Gray. Come with me."

I would never normally do this but I followed him to his apartment, which I was happy to note in a nice neighborhood, full of historic buildings. He didn't keep much inside, but I sat and drank the tea offered to me.

He told me the "spirits" that I can sometimes see are actually people's real-life souls, and with proper training, I could control my gifts. I asked if that meant turning them off, and when he said yes I agreed to be his…apprentice, he calls it.

Of all the nerve. He hardly looks older than I am. But I'll go along with it, as soon as he tells me how to control my powers, turn them off, and live a normal life.

Soooooo….that's why I'm here. It took a lot of convincing, but I quit my job (it was terrible anyway; perhaps it was a good thing), moved out of my apartment (another thing that might have been a good thing) and am now living here with my mentor in "soul exorcism", Oliver Gray.

My second "lesson" (as the first was a disaster) introduced me to what Oliver calls "Soul Séance", where someone like us reads the personality of a single soul. There are other things you can see, he says, but I should start with the basics.

After I focused hard, I could only see his soul. A sphere of light, just as it's always been, but after saying the words "Soul Séance" did I see details in the soul that I never thought to look at. It had some sort of pattern in it, and was green, as you can probably tell from the drawing.

What I'm supposed to do is draw all the souls I see and he'll tell me what the details mean. The color doesn't matter, apparently, but patterns can indicate special powers like ours. He said mine was a bright blue, with the same designs.

I'll keep pestering him about how to turn my powers off for good, but honestly, it's very interesting, and I'm glad there's someone else who sees the souls like I can. In fact, I think that's the only reason I'm here in the first place. I think he's the only one who can see them too…well, obviously someone else had to teach him these things, but he seems kind of lonely. Maybe I'll stick around and see what he has to teach me.

Beats working as a waitress.

A/n Tell me how I did! I edited this about a million times. I'm very busy at the time, so updates might not be as regular, but the chapters will be longer than any of my previous stories and will hopefully be more interesting. Also…any questions about this chapter?


	2. Chapter 2

Soul Exorcism!

Chapter two: Say Yes to the Dress! Why the hell is Soul eating paper?

WARNING: very, very girly! This was written by a "Say Yes to the Dress" fan, after all…ah, wedding shows… 3

"So have you decided on a date yet, Maka?" Tsubaki squealed. She, the twins, Kim, Jackie, Blaire, and the soon-to-be bride were piled on the floor of Maka's living room, giggling about all things wedding. Liz picked up every single wedding magazine known to (wo)man at the bookstore, and everyone was helping Maka find ideas.

"Let me see the ring, Maka!" Patti said, and her eyes grew large. "It's so sparkly! Sis, sis, can I have one of those?"

"When you're older, Pat." Liz replied, tearing out a picture of a bouquet of flowers.

"It's custom-made," Maka giggled, "The diamond looks like a little soul, see? Isn't that _adorable_? He's _so _thoughtful, when he wants to be!"

"Everybody run; Maka's being girly!" Kim joked. "Do you know where the wedding's going to take place? That might make a difference in what we pick."

"Soul says he wants it at the Evans manor back in England. He didn't grow up there, but he thinks it would be nice." Maka said. "It's really old, a Victorian! Isn't that _romantic? _He says that we could do the ceremony outside in the rose garden if we choose the right season. A _rose garden! _Isn't that _perfect?" _

The group squealed in agreement and giggled at Maka's girly alter ego. Just one proposal and this happens? Maka also explained that she _already_ felt on cloud 9 because of becoming a deathscythe. She frequently hummed little tunes to herself and could never be seen with a frown, only a goofy smile. Nothing could ruin her good mood.

"Then maybe we could cut some of the roses for the flowers." Jackie suggested. "It would save some money for the DRESS! Really good ones can get expensive."

"Yeah, Maka, what kind of dress would you like? Ball gown style? Lace? Sparkles?" Liz, the fashionista, asked. She was flipping through one of the wedding dress style magazines.

"You should get something like this, Maka! Nya~!" Blaire tore out a page of what appeared to be a single yard of white fabric with lace and beads glued on it wrapped around a model. "It would look so pretty!"

"Nothing too flashy, please…" Maka bit her lip, not wanting to snap at the cat. Blaire was very excited about the wedding, and _was _doing her best to help out, even if it meant picking out the most revealing dresses in the magazine. She liked to pester Maka about if she was going to have a "litter of baby scythe-y boys and scythe-y girls" after the honeymoon. Maka's reply was a baffled "Eh?"

"Something more classic, then?" Jackie said.

Maka was remembering something. Suddenly she shot up, rushing back to her room to find a necklace out of her seriously lacking jewelry box. It contained one pair of earrings, and a set of bracelets.

"But whatever I get, it has to match this." She showed off the necklace to her amazed friends. It was the necklace she used for Soul Séance, a long strand of pearls with diamonds and garnets mixed in.

"Maka, this is _beautiful! _Where and when did you get it and why haven't I seen you wearing it before?" Tsubaki exclaimed.

"This was a gift from Soul's Grandmother, when we visited his family in Las Vegas. She gave it to me after she taught me how read the characters of the souls and to see the dead wavelengths." She explained lovingly. "It's a family heirloom, so it's only appropriate I wear it, right?"

The other girls were drooling. Maka took that as a yes.

"Actually, she said that, 'I know I'll see you again, maybe in a white dress.' She's close to Soul."

"And his brother sounds like a hottie." Liz said. "I'd totally go for a musician."

"Liz! You can't say that! He's Soul's _brother." _Maka responded, fist up in anger. "_Besides, _he just got married a year ago. He's really happy for us. _Us! _It sounds so _wonderful!" _ She forgot about all about her anger.

As Maka floated into la-la land, Tsubaki and the others continued to flip through magazines. Maka's trance was interrupted, however, by the home phone ringing in the kitchen. She picked it up right before the last ring. "Mama? Mama! You got my message!

"Soul asked me to marry him!

"Yes, I know! Isn't it _wonderful? _

"It was at the deathscythe ceremony. At first I thought he was messing everything up, but then he stuttered and got down on one knee!

"What did Papa say? He's very happy! Anyway, you have to come to Death City! Where are you right now?

"South Africa? That's cool. You'll be in time for the wedding, though?

A long pause. "My friends are here. I'd better go.

"Soul is at the store.

"No, he's _not_. He's not like that.

"Mama—

"No.

"No! Good _bye_!"

"Why the long face, Maka?" Kim asked when Maka wandered back into the living room. The other girls perked up from their reading and worried over Maka's expression, not to mention the angry manner that she'd hung up the phone (much less on her beloved mother). She collapsed on the floor and leaned back against the sofa.

"Mama's . . . not coming to the wedding." She burst into tears.

"Oh, Maka. . ." Her friends immediately dropped what they were doing and clung to the weeping bride.

"She says . . . she says that it's too soon, that I s-shouldn't marry my Weapon . . . make the same m-mistake she did with Papa. . ."

"Maka honey, it's never a mistake; you love him too much for it to be a mistake." Tsubaki comforted.

"But what if she's _right?" _Maka cried, sniffling.

"Maka . . . you love each other. Don't let your mother get to you. She's wrong about this."

Three knocks hit the door. "Hey, Maka! Can ya get the door? My hands are full!"

"I'll get it." Liz said quietly, and opened the door for her friend's fiancé. Soul was carrying two very full bags of groceries.

"Oh, hey Liz."

"Wait." The gun hissed, and pushed him back outside of the apartment. "Soul, be careful when you come in."

"Why, is Maka all covered with girly stuff?" He joked.

"Be serious, Soul! She just got a phone call from her mother. It seems she doesn't approve of you two, and she's not going to the wedding." Liz said gently. "So please be nice."

He scowled. All he could think about was that how one person, a person so dear to her, could have possibly cause her so much hurt. He met Kami once…she seemed to like him well enough, though they didn't talk much. Shouldn't she at least _pretend_ to be happy for her only daughter?

He felt rage building up, quite strange for him, he being too cool for angry outbursts. Now, he felt like punching the wall he was currently leaning against. Then he imagined Maka's face—she was probably crying.

"I'll take these." Liz offered. "Don't say anything that'll set her off."

"No one knows better how to not do that but me." Soul said. He opened the door and let Liz in first. Whereas Maka had become gigglier, Soul had become more gentlemanly. Black*Star made fun of him for it, but figured he'd go back to somewhat-normal after the wedding. If not, well . . . Black*Star might consider finding a new best friend.

When Soul walked through the door, Maka looked up, knowing who was there, and wiped off her tears. She didn't want to show weakness, not to him, especially not now.

"Maka." He said, sitting next to her. His plan was to not say anything about what happened and completely ignore her downcast eyes. "What'cha doing? These girls making you do some girly stuff? Ah, I see, dresses. And what's this? Granny's necklace? You look so pretty with it on." He took the necklace from her hands and placed it gently around her neck.

"Thank you, Soul." She understood, and clasped a hand over his.

"You know I love you no matter what, right?"

"Yeah. Sorry I'm like this . . . it's overwhelming, planning a wedding."

"Hey, Maka, I just got off the phone with Death City Bridal. Our appointment's in fifteen minutes. Ready to go?" Jackie said, snapping shut her cell phone.

"Sure." When Soul made a move to stand up and go with them, she pushed him back down. "Sorry, but don't you know it is bad luck to let the groom see the dress before the ceremony?"

"Right."

…

"Such a petit frame; can't be anything too fluffy." The shopowner said. She was helping them pick out dresses to try on, and was brutally honest. "No tits either; have to be something with straps." Maka fumed.

The shop was empty when they came in. Most Death City bridal parties would travel to a city nearby to purchase their wedding dresses. However, Maka thought it would be best to find something from her hometown. As a young girl, before she understood what was going on between her parents, she would pass by the shop on the way to the toy store and always wish she were big enough to try one on.

"Sorry we're late, Maka dear!" The bell at the door dinged. More women walked in; Nygus in her bandages, Marie with a goofy smile, and Spirit (he counted because he cried like a woman.)

"Everyone!" Maka greeted before being whisked away to the fitting room. The group chatted happily. It didn't matter right now to Maka that Spirit was on the verge of getting them kicked out of the shop because of his cries that his "little angel looks so grown up!" or that Blaire was picking out dresses for Maka to try on that looked more like lingerie than actual clothing. Maka even put some of them on, for Blaire's sake.

They fell silent as Maka came out with one of Blaire's picks: a dress that was more glittery beads than fabric. She shook her head silently and turned on her heel to find another dress. Blaire stole it from her fitting room and put it on herself, just for fun.

After an hour, she finally came out happy. It was a very simple dress; the highly decorated dresses didn't fit Maka's style. It gave her that bit of definition that her normal clothes didn't offer.

For the second time of the day, Maka was crying, but in joy. It wasn't often that she felt beautiful, and when she set the necklace around her neck and placed a sample veil over her head, she knew it was the right dress for her.

…

Meanwhile, Soul was sulking that he didn't get to go with them. Bored, he went into the kitchen to cook himself some microwave mac 'n cheese. When that was done, he plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV to some dumb movie that was on. After it was finished, his eyes started to stray to the magazines that were left on the floor.

Knowing Maka would have a fit if they were causing a mess, Soul gathered them up and put them on the coffee table.

"I wonder what's in these magazines. . ." He muttered and started flipping through. He noticed the wedding cake magazine, and decided that it would be his job to find the cake. They couldn't buy it here, in Death City, if Maka still wanted to go to the Evans Manor. Bringing a cake on a plane wasn't a good idea. It would get smashed if it was in cargo, or if he brought it as a carry-on he'd probably eat it on the way. It was a _long _plane ride back to England…

The cakes looked delicious. In fact, he was about to shove a page in his mouth when Maka came back in from shopping. Soul put down the magazine immediately.

"Didn't you buy a dress?" Soul asked, confused by Maka's empty hands.

"It has to be fitted first, silly!" Maka said. "I have to go back later to make sure it fits perfectly. Geez, Soul, you don't know the first thing about dresses!"

He agreed. Picking out clothes must be such a pain when you're female! "I'm picking out the cake, by the way!" He let her know.

"Hmm, I wondered why you were about to eat a piece of paper!" She giggled, sitting next to Soul. Scratch that; take out the "next to". She was sitting _on _Soul, not next to him. He didn't mind too much; she wasn't that heavy.

"Can't we just _enjoy _getting engaged? This seems like so much _work." _Soul complained, and amended, "Well, everything but the cake."

"Kid offered to be wedding planner." Maka said. "But, remembering every single party he's planned, I think it might be a bad idea…"

"Right." He agreed, imagining his friend flipping out over perfectly placed chairs or perfectly aligned tableware.

"By the way, since you're getting the cake, when you get a cake topper, you better make sure the girl is blonde and I guess the guy would be blonde too…probably not going to find one with white hair…"

"'S cool. Get that a lot."

"So are we still going to go to the Evans manor?" Maka asked, hoping she wasn't coming off as too hopeful. It sounded really pretty over there, from what Soul told her about it.

"Hm-mm. Granny's setting it up. It was her idea anyway."

"She didn't mention it on the phone…" Maka recalled their three-way conversation over the telephone during their night of telling the whole freaking world the good news (or, in Kami's case, bad news, but no one would dare mention that).

"C'mon Maka, you know me better than that! I had no clue what to do, so I called Granny. She was excited, but not very surprised…said something about 'knowing all along' or something…and offered to set that up. Half the times I went to the manor were for weddings."

Maka decided not to tell Soul that when they saw his grandmother last, she had predicted their eventual marriage the day they left. _"I know I'll see you again; maybe in a white dress!" _She'd said. Maka couldn't wait to see her again.

Soul yawned largely; his yawns always showed a few of his shark teeth. Maka, susceptible to the contagious disease that was yawning, politely covered her hand with her hand. Soul took this as his cue to lift Maka up bridal style—ha, a pun, he lamely thought—and bring her to his room. _Our room?_ He wondered. _I suppose we could turn Maka's into a reading room; she'd like that. Man. What have I gotten myself into?_

…

Meanwhile, at the Shibusen Europe branch…

Chrona was returning to the kitchen, mail in hand. She flipped through it absentmindedly with her cup of noodles.

There was a letter addressed to her! Chrona took the envelope and opened it. "From Maka! I wonder what's so important that she'd send a letter! So pretty…"

The card was made of off-white cardstock, hold shut with a red ribbon tied in a neat bow. "You are personally invited," Chrona read out loud, "to the wedding of Maka Albarn and Solomon Evans."

"That's wonderful! I'd love to come! I hope I can deal with weddings…" A separate note was in the card.

_Chrona,_

_I thought it would be more exciting to send my invite first! I made these myself, well, Soul helped too, but he fell asleep after finishing only one. You know him! Did you know that Soul's not his real name? His name is Solomon! Isn't that funny?_

_I know you're sorry you couldn't come to my deathscythe ceremony, but finals are very important too! I bet you passed! ;)_

_It's been a few weeks since your surgery . . . are you still feeling alright? I bet it's strange for both of you. Has Ragnorok adjusted to his human form yet? Let him know that I hope he's doing well. Please bring him to the wedding, if he promises to be nice. There will be candy! _

_Anyway, I hope you are doing well and I'll see you soon!_

_Love,_

_Maka_

Chrona smiled widely. She always loved getting messages from Maka. She wondered what she was going to wear . . . something nice . . . maybe that green dress, the one Rags said she looked nice in.

He changed a lot after the surgery. For the first time, Chrona and Ragnorok were two separate entities. It turned out that "Rags" was a normal demon weapon to begin with, if not contaminated by some madness from a disease in his childhood. Chrona had scars on her back from where they took him out, but it was worth it—she was finally her own person. She might not be able to deal with some things, but she was learning a lot at school.

He had skin so dark it was almost an inky black. An X-shaped scar took up all of his right cheek, and a few on his left arm. He was as bad-mouthed and foul-tempered as always, but after being with Chrona so long they still appeared to be attached at the hip. Rags seemed to have decided that it was his job to protect his quiet and shy meister.

Chrona had changed too. She grew out her scraggly, pink hair and pulled it back in a pony-tail most days. The vigorous training at Shibusen Europe put some meat on her bones, and she looked healthier since, well, ever.

"Why're you in your party dress, Chrona?" Rags asked when he entered the apartment they shared with another meister / weapon team. Housing in this branch was set up differently.

"Oh . . . um . . . I was just trying it on. Maka and Soul are getting married, and I wanted to wear it." She stumbled. "She says you can come too, if you'll behave! There's candy!"

"Candy? I'm going if there's candy." Ragnorok slurped down the rest of his meister's noodles.


	3. Chapter 3

Soul Exorcism!

Chapter three: Time jump! A hidden room in the Evans mansion?

It was finally time for the wedding. Everyone hopped on the next plane to England, then on various methods of transit until they arrived at the town nearest the Evans household. More than half of the hotel was booked for people from Shibusen, some of the Albarns, and the Evans that didn't live in the manor, like Soul's immediate family. The manor wasn't a hotel, after all! Sure, it had guest rooms, but not enough to accommodate everyone, even though the ceremony was relatively small.

Soul and Maka, exhausted, almost ran to their room to throw their suitcases down before meeting the others in the small restaurant in the lobby.

The first person they saw when they finally decided to leave the sanctuary of their hotel room was Soul's brother, Wes, accompanied by his wife, Brianna.

"Mr. and Mrs. Chompers! It's good to see you!" He greeted. Chompers was a childhood nickname Wes gave to his brother. It probably came from Soul's sharp teeth, a feature the two brothers did not share. Soul grumbled. "I want you two to meet someone." Wes said proudly.

"Who?" Maka asked sweetly.

"This is Devon Evans!" The father said excitedly, showing off his wife's pregnant stomach. Brianna giggled, seeing Maka and Soul's surprised faces.

"Wes, you're a dad?" Soul said incredulously. "Geez, I can't imagine you being all fatherly and stuff."

"Congratulations! When's he due? Oh, I'm sure he's going to be just the cutest thing!" Maka said. There weren't a lot of babies around Death City. Because of the heavy concentration of Kishin, a lot of mothers would move away and come back when their child was a little older. "Maternity leave" was a much longer period of time in Death City.

"One more month." Brianna said. "Wes, dear, tell them the _other _good news." She reminded her husband.

"That's right! Granny did a Séance and found out that Devon is _a weapon! _Isn't that wonderful? We wanted to let you guys know, 'cause he'll be off to Shibusen as soon as his blades come out!" Wes smiled. "It makes me so proud! My little boy is going to be a scythe!"

"That's wonderful news!" Maka cooed again, winking at Soul. "I'm sure his uncle can give him a few pointers!"

"Right…" An uncle? Him? Still, a "mini-Wes" kind of freaked him out. A white-haired boy with hair not as spiky as his, held down even more by gel, holding a violin came to his mind.

"C'mon, let's go meet the others." Maka said. "I can hear Black*Star screaming at us."

"Soul! Maka! Come join the godly me!" He screeched.

"Is this normal for him?" Wes whispered to Soul.

"You have no idea."

The four (five, if you count baby Devon) hurried over to the restaurant, where they'd pushed two circular tables together. Maka flashed a brilliant smile when she saw her pink-haired friend, who put down her menu.

"Chrona!"

"Maka! I missed you!" The two hugged tightly; they hadn't seen each other for a long time.

"You look wonderful. Oh, hello Ragnorok." She shook the demon sword's hand shakily. He was really intimidating, not to mention various arguments they'd had with each other in the past. Maka tried to get over the whole flipping-the-skirt incident, but would never fully forgive him.

"Ms. Plain." He said. "You promised there would be candy!"

"There will be." Maka promised. "Do you mind if I catch up with Chrona?" She sat next to the girl, Soul and Ragnorok watching their respective charges faithfully. The men scooted as close as they could to their partners to avoid sitting next to each other.

"How's life at the Europe Branch?" Maka began conversationally.

"Well, Rags and I have 36 souls right now."

"37." Ragnorok corrected.

"Right…we've been working really hard! Rags is working hard too; it's hard to be human again after almost ten years. I know I couldn't deal with it…"

"It's not that hard." He sniffed.

"I've been working on my poetry, too! Before we left I typed them up on the computer." Chrona fidgeted, wanting to say something but was too nervous. "Can…can I email them to you?"

"I'd love it! My email is " [does not exist…though it's funny how Microsoft word automatically corrects it so it looks real. LOL]

"Tell me if they're good…"

"I'm sure they're awesome!"

Chrona stopped twisting the hem of her navy blue sweater and smiled. The sweater was part of her school uniform, and was decorated with a Shibusen Europe badge that had an intricate M for meister on it. She wore her uniform everywhere, trying to be like Maka, probably. Chrona kept her skirt modest, however, but she was pretty sure that even if it was floor length Ragnorok would continue to flip it.

The uniform policy was stricter over there, so Ragnorok wore a similar sweater and badge. His badge read W for weapon.

"What'cha looking at?" The sword asked when he noticed Maka looking at him out of the corner of her eye. He unnerved Maka.

"Your scar…I was wondering…well…" Now Maka was the one fidgeting.

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Ms. Plain. Medusa did this to me. Why she did it on my face I don't know or care. Hmph. I already know the bookworm's gonna ask more, so I'll tell you."

"You don't have to, Rags!" Chrona said. "If you don't feel like it, you don't have to…"

He took a big gulp of whatever drink he ordered. "Well…I don't remember everything. I remember getting sick, really sick, and I went crazy! I was in some sort of hospital, and I saw this lady, and she told me to follow her, so I did. Turns out she was Medusa, and she trapped me somehow, and the next thing I know I'm not human and I'm stuck in _this one's _body. And STOP CRYING!"

"I'm sorry…it just sounds really bad, what happened to you." Maka apologized. If she didn't already hate Medusa, she hated her even more for what she did to poor Ragnorok. "How are you adjusting?"

"It's weird to walk." He said honestly. "And being away from this wuss"—He indicated his meister—"makes me feel funny." You could hardly see it, his face being so dark, but he was blushing a little bit. It made Maka wonder if maybe he liked Chrona.

"He's always with me!" Chrona said. "He protects me from things I can't deal with."

"Stop smiling at me!" Ragnorok exclaimed, pinching Chrona's nose until she yelped and slapped him. Totally deserved.

"Still can't beat your Maka-Chop." Soul said to Maka. He still wouldn't want to be Chrona-Slapped either; it left a mark on Ragnorok's face.

Maka continued to chat with Chrona about life, the universe, and everything. Soul talked to Black*Star, who was making sure the room had some spotlights so when he gave his speech he'd have some lights on his face.

"Soul, we were just about to head over to the manor. Do you and Maka want to come with us? You could take Maka on a tour." Wes asked while Soul was done assuring Black*Star he'd have a spotlight (though he didn't know if it was true or not…he just wanted him to shut up.)

"Hmm. OK. Let's go, Maka. Bye guys."

"Bye!" Maka added a moment after.

…

Now _this _was closer to what Maka envisioned when she thought of a mansion. It was massive, and painted a clean white. The vast foyer seemed to be bigger than was possible when she first saw the house, and had two separate flights of stairs you could go up to a small balcony, to two different hallways.

Soul opened the door third to the left. "When we were kids, Wes and I shared this room. He'd push me off the bed and I slept on the loungy chair thing."

"Chaise lounge?" Maka offered.

"Right. That. Sorry, I don't speak Ikea."

Maka rolled her eyes at his stupid joke and looked around the room. The furniture was made in a dark wood. It was the sort that looked antique but wasn't. She was half-disappointed, but it didn't matter much. They were staying at the hotel in town.

"Yeah, so that's further proof he's a jerk." Now, Maka didn't know much about having brothers, considering none of their little group besides Soul and Tsubaki had them, but from what she's seen, brothers liked to tease their siblings a lot. This must be one of those times! She mentally took a note.

"And…this is the music room." Soul presented. "Or, rather, one of them. This is the East Music Room. The West is separate from the house, and it has a recording station. There's a small stage in the garden too."

It was as big as three of her bedrooms smashed together. Just like her room at home, the walls were covered with shelves, only instead of books there were all sorts of musical instruments. In one corner three cellos stood upright in stands, and a giant filing cabinet was full of music ready to be played.

"Isn't there a piano? Or is it in the other Music Room?" Maka asked. This wasn't one of her plans to get Soul to play, honest! Though if he would, she'd listen, of course…

"Hmm. Well, there's always the legend of the Hidden Piano Room…ooh, scaaarrrry…"

"I love ghost stories!"

"Nah, seriously, there's a room somewhere that has a piano and I think I remember how to get there."

_~I heart epic Soul Flashback time!~_

"_Soul, dear, why don't you play hide-and-seek with the other children?" Mother said. I was surprised that she wasn't sending me off to practice the piano. I don't think there was one in the house. Granny used to tell me that there was a secret room in the house that had a piano in it. It was only a legend, she said, but I believed it existed. Huh, maybe when I was playing I'd find it!_

"_OK, I'm going to be it, so everyone else go hide and I'll count down from 100." Violet, one of my cousins said. "100, 99, 98…"_

_Everyone else took the right staircase, so I thought it would be a good idea to take the left. Most of the rooms that I checked in were locked, so I kept climbing staircases and running down small hallways. _

"_66, 65, 64…" I heard faintly from the foyer. I didn't have much time left! I sped up my pace a little. _

_On my left was a spiral staircase, very cool. I decided to take that and see if I could hide at the top. It looked a little creepy; maybe Violet wouldn't bother checking up there? _

"_44, 43, 42…"_

_The room at the top of the stair was the strangest room I have ever seen. I was expecting a room that looked like the others, dark wooden floors and freshly-painted walls, but this room had red and black checkered tiles, and dark red curtains hanging on the walls. Burnt-out candles stood in tall posts. But that wasn't the best part of the room._

"_7, 6, 5…"_

_In the middle of the room was a beautiful grand piano. It was free of dust, unlike the rest of the room. I wanted to play it. What should I play? Hmm…_

"_4, 3, 2, 1! Ready or not, here I come!"_

_I forgot all about the game we were playing and opened up the compartment under the piano bench to check if there were any scores left in there. I almost dropped the papers in there as soon as I picked them up. How creepy! They had notes written in the lines, but were covered in drawings. Drawn in dark pencil were doodles of circles with little squiggles on top. Almost like music notes…They were shaded in with a red color, and a round spot was on the corner of the page that looked like dried drool, or maybe water. I hoped it was water._

_On the next page the unknown artist drew strange objects that looked like really big knives. What were those called? Scythes, that was it. Each one was very similar to the next one. They all shared common features like zig-zags and the same red and black colors. Maybe he only had those two pencils? I bet they were his favorite colors. They were mine, too. My favorite scythe was the one in the corner; it had spikes coming out from one end that looked like the sun. _

_He also had a picture of his room. The only difference was that in the corner, a little red demon stood with an evil smirk. I frowned. He was pretty scary._

_Only words were on the next page. _"The next scythe . . . my inheritance . . . finds comfort in the black and white keys . . . green eyes . . . when he is ready, green eyes . . . black keys, black blood, the Evans Curse . . . bright, green eyes . . . an eater of souls to fight the madness . . . a warrior to conquer the past" _What did that mean? I didn't know of any curse. Was I cursed? _

_The last page had a scribble of three giant eyes in a trembling hand. That one frightened me the most, for some reason. _

"_Asura has found me. Find him before he finds you." The mysterious artist wrote. It reminded me that I was supposed to be hiding and that Violet probably heard me plunk on the keys. _

…

_She didn't find me, but I got hungry, so I left my hiding place to go find the kitchen. It was noon, and time for lunch. _

"_Where were you hiding, Soul?" Wes asked._

"_Upstairs, in the piano room. Nobody came looking for me, so I left." I said. "It was weird."_

"_Where is it? I want to see."_

"_OK." I ran as fast as my little legs would take me up the route I had climbed earlier. Left, right, right again . . . wait, where was the spiral staircase? "It was right here, I swear!"_

_He didn't believe me and said I was being dumb, but I knew it was real because I had a nightmare of the room, drowning in darkness as an old man who kinda looked like my dad played a mad song on the piano. _

…

"Here we are! I found it! The Hidden Piano Room!" Soul rejoiced. He couldn't believe he'd lost it when he tried to show his brother where it was. Weird. Maybe he'd take him up here later to prove he was right. He knew this was the right room because the door was painted a vibrant red and the frame black. Etched into the wood of the frame were tiny scythes, and the doorknob looked like his scythe eye.

"Where?" Maka said, looking around. "I don't see anything up here except for cobwebs."

"It's right here; I'm standing right in front of it!" Soul said. "Can't you see it?"

"I see a wall. Soul, if you're pulling my leg then, oh, I'll Maka-chop you when we get home."

"It's right here! I swear!" He traced the carvings of the doorframe.

"Maybe only you can see it because you're an Evans." Maka suggested.

"But Wes couldn't see it…" Soul argued.

"Because you're an Evans scythe?" She revised her hypothesis. She wished she could see it…

"Makes sense. Well, I'm going inside. I'll bring back proof!" Soul agreed, turning the doorknob open. The door opened, but all Maka could see was Soul miming opening a door. A moment after, he walked straight into the wall and disappeared. The mysterious invisible door was a portal!

Maka pressed herself against the wall where he did, but it was no use. Disappointed, she walked around in circles, waiting for him to come back.

…

"Not as creepy as I remember." Soul remarked.

He walked straight to the piano bench, wanting to see if the papers that had freaked him out as a kid were still there. Yep! Of course, he now knew the first page was drawings of prekishin souls, and he was right that the second page were scythes. The last page was Asura's symbol, and the fourth, the prophecy…

Not wanting to keep Maka waiting too long, he left, bringing the papers with him as evidence that the room existed.

"Thank Shinigami you're back!" Maka flung herself at him. "I got worried!"

"Don't worry; I just like going through magical doors that other people can't see…here's those papers that I told you about."

"Wow! Souls, scythes…so this is what the room looks like inside? It looks just like your Soul Room…"

"Weird, huh? Of course, I got rid of the demon _years _ago. The next page is the prophecy that we read about in that book about the Great Families. Guess that means I'm not the _only _person that's been in here."

"Still wish _I _could see it." Maka frowned. "But it fits everything so perfectly! That's really creepy…d'you think I'm the green eyes?"

"Duh." He ruffled her hair playfully.

…

…

…

Observations of the Soul Exorcist

Today all we did was look at sketches of souls that Oliver has drawn over the years. I copied them in here too.

There was one pattern that he didn't seem to want to mention, that of the Weapon. I have no idea why, because from what he told me, there's a lot more to this world that I never knew about. _Humans transforming into weapons. A Weapon. _

I am fascinated. I begged Oliver to tell me more about them, but all he would say was, "they are dangerous", probably hoping that would shut me up. No. It has sparked my curiosity even further.

A Weapon's soul has two colors, one representing the human part in them and the other the…object, I suppose? They could be anything from a sword to a bow to a pistol. Hiding away in broad daylight, Oliver says, where they could snap at any moment.

Here is where I disagree. If they are human (if only partially), I'm sure they have human qualities. Some humans are evil, most are not. Therefore I think that most Weapons are good and some might be evil, as he says. Then again, I've never met one…but I want to.

In fact, I did a little research myself in Oliver's bookshelf (strange that he would own a book about something that he so obviously hated). There is actually a school for Weapons, where Weapons from all over the world can come to train their abilities. They can either choose my path, to train to return to normal life, or use them to fight evil. How exciting! The book didn't say where the school was, however. I wanted to go and see.

So it's decided. I will follow Oliver, when he leaves for that tour he's been waiting to go on. But it's not for helping him on his "exorcisms," I just want to meet a Weapon someday and find this school. Someday.


	4. Chapter 4

Soul Exorcist!

Chapter four: Sound or unsound! The day we've all been waiting for?

7:54 AM

_Soul was dreaming, looking down at another him._

"_Hold my hand?" The other him said to Maka, looking nervous and therefore uncool. Soul wasn't sure where they were exactly; at first he thought it might be their apartment, because that was definitely his favorite couch that his double was sitting on, but the living space was much bigger than it should have been. _

"_I'll hold Papa's hand too!" A young blonde girl piped up, grabbing the dream-Soul's other hand. _

_Soul watched as the man smiled at the both of them. What the hell was going on? _

"_We love you just the way you are, no matter what, don't we?" Maka said. Her voice sounded strange. Soul couldn't explain how though._

"_Yep!" The unfamiliar girl agreed, and squeezed his hand tight. _

_It looks like I'm getting ready to die, the Soul watching from above thought. And Maka and this little girl are trying to comfort me._

"_AHHHH!" He screamed. The Soul watching screamed too; he could also feel the pain._

_It felt like knives were piercing through his skin. He felt hot and feverish, and focused on the soothing voices of the women to keep him from passing out. His body shook and seized, his soul wavelengths spiraling out of control. Then, suddenly, he felt as if he were melting inside, like the feel of a hot cup of coffee down your throat. Soul relaxed when the sensation ended. He let go of their hands._

_He stared at his right arm. He was trying to transform it into a blade! But nothing happened. There was no doubt about it: Soul was no longer a weapon. _

…

Soul's eyes shot open. He felt two panics: the panic of waking up in an unfamiliar location, only to remember that they were in that hotel, and then that nightmare. _That nightmare. _

He rolled over and tried to pull Maka in for a hug; it would definitely comfort him from that really wacky nightmare. It was weird though. She felt really muscular and big in Soul's embrace. All stayed silent for eight seconds until his eyes shot open for the second time and Soul let out an unmanly scream, jumping away from the bed-invader known as Black*Star.

"Soul! I know you're my bro, but that does not give you the right to invade my personal godly bubble!" He yelled back.

"Bla-Black*Star? What the fuck are you doing in my bed?" Soul yelled. "Where's Maka?"

"Tsk, tsk, Soul, you can't see Maka until later. It's a tradition." Kid said, rising from the chair in the corner. "That's why we are here."

"What kind of stupid tradition is that? Screw tradition! I need Maka. Now." He made for the door, but Kid beat him to it.

"For your information, Soul, it's a custom that dates all the way back to when Shibusen was founded and it was the habit for the Shinigami himself to conduct a meister or weapon wedding. Of course, as I am your friend and also one of your groomsmen, my father has agreed to join us today. Do you remember the vows we taught you during rehearsal?"

"Uh…"

Kid face-palmed himself, twice, one with each hand. "Do you give this woman your mind, body, and soul, sound or unsound?" He prompted.

"Sound or unsound, my mind, body, and soul belong only to you?"

"Yes. Don't screw it up."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Can I see Maka now?"

Kid, realizing that Soul did not care about traditions and if he didn't do something the albino would break down the hotel door, sighed and said, "Will _this _change your mind? Follow all of the rules and this soul is yours. I caught it last night. Think of it as a pre-wedding gift." He dangled a red prekishin soul in front of his friend's face, trying not to laugh at his drool. Soul hadn't had a soul in a long time, so he knew tempting him with food was a great plan.

Soul broke himself out of his trance, shaking his head. "I'm not a _dog, _Kid. I won't be distracted by…oh…that looks good…"

"I _told _you it would work, Kid! My godly plans _always _work!" Black*Star bragged, even though it was actually Kid that schemed. "We should do this more often."

"You promise to do as we say for the rest of the day and I'll give you this, understand?"

"Yes! Now give it here!"

Soul savored the soul as much as he could. His first soul in _years. _Every single soul that he and Maka had collected had gone to Maka. This one tasted just as good as his first, very satisfying, but it worked up his appetite. "I NEED BREAKFAST!"

…

8:23 AM

In the other room, Maka was also flipping out. She was pacing her room, muttering things like, "what if something isn't symmetrical and Kid finds out? What if Black*Star made a big mess?" and worse of all, "What happens if he gets changes his mind? No; that couldn't happen! No!"

"Maka, everything's going to be _fine. _Eat something." Her friends gathered around her, urging her to at least eat a little bit—a light breakfast wasn't going to suddenly make you too big for your wedding dress. And Maka never worried about things like this. Sure, she freaked out over the weirdest of things at times, but still…

…

3:03 PM

Not surprisingly, Spirit Albarn was crying as he walked his 'darling angel Maka' down the aisle. Maka would purposely step on her father's feet whenever she sensed a complete breakdown coming on. The pain would snap him back into the moment. But Maka was able to ignore the fuss once she saw Soul there waiting for her. Time slowed down, and her awkward walk felt like walking through water. It was hard to walk in that dress, anyway.

Then, suddenly, she was standing next to Soul, and the black blob that was Shinigami was speaking.

"A sound soul dwells in a sound mind and a sound body." Shinigami spoke. "Do you, Solomon Vincent Evans the 8th, give this woman your mind, body, and soul, sound or unsound?"

"Sound or unsound, my mind, body, and soul belong only to you." Soul said to Maka, who was mouthing the words, 'The 8th?'

"SOUL? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE THE _8__TH_IN YOUR FAMILY TO HAVE THAT NAME?" Kid pushed aside everyone else on stage to see his friend better. "And I have always said that you weren't symmetrical! Your _name _contains the very best, most symmetrical number that is eight! I am truly sorry—"The young Shinigami bowed to Soul as if he were a king.

"Kid! So uncool!" When Kid continued to admire Soul's full name, Soul whispered violently, "Fine. I'm giving you the 8th. You are now Death the Kid the 8th. Now go back in line!"

"Oh dear! I can see why you asked me not to say your middle names now! Sorry; must have forgotten! Let's move on, shall we~?" Shinigami said. "And do you, Maka Jane Albarn, give this man your mind, body, and soul, sound or unsound?"

"Sound or unsound, my mind, body, and soul belong only to you." Maka said to Soul.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride!"

Soul was still in a bad mood from Kid's actions earlier (he suddenly knew how it felt to always be interrupted like Kid's speeches always were), but that didn't prevent him from kissing Maka enthusiastically. Perhaps a little _too _passionate—he could hear a few throat-clearing "ahems" from the bridesmaids.

…

5:24 PM

"YAHOO! Your God has arrived to start the party!" Black*Star announced as he entered the ballroom, which was dressed up with lots of tables and chairs and fancy china.

"_Black*Star…" _The two weapon-meisters groaned at the same time.

"Soul, buddy! There you are! I can't start my party without my best friend!" His fist collided with Soul's in greeting.

"This is my party."

"Ahem." Maka coughed.

"Our party." Soul amended. "And I want it to be cool, so don't screw this up, y'know, like the ceremony?"—Kid looked down, embarrassed—"That goes for all of you. Stay cool, like me."

"Why're you looking at me?" Liz asked as he glared at each of them. "I don't think I've ever caused any disasters at any parties. I just wanted to flirt with your brother."

"WHAT? Liz, my brother's married and is having a freaking weapon kid! I'm going to be the super-cool uncle that he wants to be when he grows up! THAT'LL SHOW THAT JERK!" He finally went insane.

"Uh, Soul, calm down, I was just kidding…" Liz's face beaded with sweat. She knew he was married, after all. Maka told her. But, one of the rules of romantic comedies was when going to your best friend's wedding, flirt with his brother.

"Liz, I'm sure there are plenty of available bachelors here…" Maka said. "Soul! I thought you said you didn't want to make a scene! C'mon everybody."

…

6:17 PM

Things were going well. No explosions, no symmetry freak-outs, no Black*Star being typical Black*Star…so obviously something was going to go wrong. Maka just couldn't figure out what. She looked around the room. Her family was chatting, her Papa was flirting with some woman, Soul's family was probably gossiping about earlier, Papa was flirting with some woman…then all hell broke loose.

"Hi everybody, nya~!" Blaire said, sashaying in wearing her favorite purple dress. She took one step in with her high heels and suddenly all of the white-haired males in the room (excluding Soul, of course, he would never get a nosebleed on the day of his wedding unless his bride gave it to him), were lying unconscious on the ground. Many were being slapped by their wives or girlfriends.

"I hate parties." Soul spat. He was the only Evans man standing. Apparently they had a higher tendency for nosebleeds than other men did. At least, that's what Soul said once, but Maka didn't believe him until now.

Whatever the case, the floor was covered in blood and it would all have to be cleaned up.

Maka, angry, left her seat and trudged her feet over where Blaire was. She glared at the cat-witch.

"What did Blaire do? All of those guys who look like Soul fainted…"

"You should be a cat for the rest of the night." Maka suggested / ordered.

"OK, Maka. Nya~" She ran off, and Maka returned to her seat beside Soul's.

"That's a little cruel, y'know." Soul said carefully. "It's not her fault she was born, well, _created, _with big boobs."

"Yeah, well, she doesn't have to show them off like that." Maka grumbled. "Which brings me to another question.Why do all of the women in your family have such _big boobs?" _ It was true; dye Blaire's hair something other than bright purple and she'd blend right in with the Evans women.

"A large breast size does not equal beauty, Maka." He pointed out as if giving a lesson. "All the women in my family have big breasts. And all the guys are white-haired and red-eyed just like me."

"So is this why you're obsessed with big boobs?" Maka spat.

"On the contrary, it is why I like small boobs. If you had big ones it would remind me of my aunts and cousins. _That _would be weird." Soul said matter-of-factly.

"Then why would you have nosebleeds when Blaire would pounce on you in the morning if it _reminded you of your relatives, _huh?" She narrowed her eyes. He was most definitely not getting out of this one alive.

And he knew it.

"I um…also get a view of her nice legs… Please don't kill me!" It was a choice of being Maka-chopped on a lighter scale for being honest or flat-out lying and getting a death chop.

"MAKA-CHOP!" Yes, she was carrying a book. She was taking no chances! It would be the one time she wasn't bringing a book to chop with that someone deserved a really big whopping.

"What the hell kind of Maka-Chop was that? I could hardly feel it!" Maka wasn't sure why he sounded upset.

"You're my husband. Therefore I can't kill you." She said, taking the air of a fine-class lady. "If I did that would be domestic violence. Geez. You sound like you want me to hit you or something."

"Nya~! Maka! Pretty please can I be a human again? There are kids out there that are grabbing my tail and Blaire doesn't like that!" The cat pleaded after jumping up on the table. "I _promise _I won't bug everybody. I just don't want to be stepped on!"

After deep contemplation, Maka decided loyalty to her friend / pet was more important, so she granted permission. The albinos in the crowd fainted again with blood loss. "Just don't bug anybody…at least none of the other people with white hair. Got it?"

"OK! Blaire _promises._"

Soul laughed nervously, knowing the exploits of tonight weren't over. "Hey, look, Granny's coming over here!"

"Hi Granny!"

"What's that in your pocket, dear?"

"Huh?" Soul said. He reached into his pocket, where he found the papers that they found earlier. They were lightly folded into fourths. He rubbed the creases out of the papers. "There's a creepy room at the top of the tower that has a piano in it. I found these in there."

Granny read the pages eagerly. "The Last Score of Peter Evans." She said in shock. "Give those to me."

"Why?"

"I can't tell you right now." She creased the papers up, stuffed them in her handbag, and quickly changed the subject.

"That was weird." Maka said to Soul afterwards.

…

8:12 PM

"So…I designed the cake myself. There are two layers! The top layer is angel food cake because you're my angel. So I put Devil's food cake on the bottom because it's my favorite. And I made the cake soul-shaped because souls are also delicious! And…I made the cake topper myself!" Soul said proudly. "D'you like it?"

Craft projects were…not Soul's forte. In fact, it looked like something that might be made by an elementary school student. Soul had taken a leftover piece of cardstock from the home-made invites, drew two scythes on it with colored pencils, one green and one red, and attached ribbon (again from the invites) in little bows. The atrocity was glued to a Popsicle stick which held it up.

"It's hideous, isn't it?"

"Only you, Soul, only you." Maka said, plucking it off the cake before they would cut it. She wanted to save it as a souvenir, maybe frame it somewhere in the apartment. "I think it's beautiful."

Of course she said that. She liked everything that he drew. Soul wasn't the next Martha Stewart, but he wasn't half-bad at drawing. The Maka-scythe and Soul-scythe were freakishly realistic, down to the very last feather detailing on her scythe form. All this artistic-ness was just like his piano-playing—he'd never do it if she asked him to, when he did he wouldn't let anybody see it, and when he did he was extremely modest.

"Will you draw me? C'mon, Soul, draw me!" She said when she found out.

"No."

"_Please?"_

"No."

After an hour of pestering, he started scribbling and handed her a stick figure. Later, he told her that he liked to draw weapons. Soul said that the picture of his scythe that was on his Shibusen ID card was _missing something, _and when he thought really hard, he could just _feel _what he actually looked like, because the photo didn't capture his feelings or _something_.

Artists, Maka scoffed. For the next week, she was angry that she hadn't been born left-handed like he was. She read online that people who were left-handed were those artsy types that she didn't understand. Maka figured that's why he was so good at music and art but not good with reading and logic like her right-handed self.

She didn't know that he did draw her scythe once before. It took him a while. He was supposed to be studying, blah, blah, blah. His homework remained unsolved, and he was doodling.

While that was going on, Maka was telling Blaire the plotline of a novel she was thinking of writing. The cat told her that it needed more romance, which led her to her tangent of "_what happened last night with Soul while I was out you're blushing what happened what happened what happened YOU'RE BLUSHING! Something _did _happen!"_

She answered that yes, something happened, now would you please leave me alone?

The cat-witch snickered, getting the information that she wanted, and left to call her friends from the club to let them know. When Spirit wasn't around, they often gossiped about Blaire's "roommates".

In fact, Blaire had lived with them so long, she begged Soul to let her draw something on his cake topper too. She _pinkie-promised_ that she wouldn't draw anything dirty and drew some hearts on it.

"Ready?" Maka said.

She took his excessive drooling as a yes, and transformed one of her fingers, cleaning it first in some water that they'd put out there previously. The non-meister or weapons at the reception were completely baffled by the water, and thought it might be some creepy ritual. However, what they thought was more fascinating were their partial transformations. They were oohing and awing, and the small amount of children present stood as tall as they could to get a better look.

Soul and Maka together cut the cake, and smashed it into each other's faces, making sure Black*Star wasn't looking so he didn't get any ideas for a food fight and Kid to make sure he wouldn't complain about the cake being cut badly. (Regardless, they had tried their best.)

Instead, Black*Star was snickering to Kid, "Soul put Maka on top."

…

9:07 PM

"Remember what we practiced?"

"Yeah!" She blushed. They had an excellent dance planned out. It was going to be mind-blowing! The song started to play; a remix of a recording of Soul playing the piano. He made it specifically for today.

'_This is the kind of guy I am.' _

Why was this dance going to be amazing? Well, at these words, Soul transformed and Maka twirled him around. It was almost if they were dancing; it was graceful and somehow matched the music. She did a few performances of her favorite attack moves.

'_This is the kind of girl you are.'_

In a flash, they traded places. Soul was fond of using the attack moves as dance steps. Maka _did _like to fight, after all.

'_This is who we are.'_

They were human again, and finished their first dance with a twirl. Everyone was impressed. The non-meister or weapons were completely blown away by the powers that the two shared; how they could transform and wield each other so beautifully. The weapons of the Albarn family were impressed by how they choreographed their routine.

One person was not impressed by the dance, and his name was Black*Star. He complained that he was being upstaged, and when he couldn't figure out a dance that would rival theirs, returned to his table where Tsubaki was sitting serenely, holding a bunch of flowers.

"_I'm sorry, everyone, he's just so competitive!" She apologized when she noticed that it was her partner who had caught the bouquet._ Then, looking up, she watched the dance floor.

Kid and the sisters were dancing symmetrically. Enough said.

…

…

…

Observations of the Soul Exorcist

_Alright. I will pass on. _Our soul connection was broken.

"You've done it, Georgia! Well done." Oliver congratulated me. "You've completed the exorcism."

"I have, haven't I?" I said. "What happens now?"

"You are a true Soul Exorcist." He said simply. "So, I have an offer for you."

"Yes?"

"You see, Georgia, I work for a company of exorcists. They send me missions that I must complete if I want to remain amongst their ranks and get paid. I would like you to continue being my apprentice and accompany me on my missions."

"Which would entail what, exactly?"

"Learning more about the art as we travel the world, completing jobs. Georgia, I know you came to me asking me to teach you how to turn your abilities off, but your talents must not be wasted."

"I see…can I think about it?"

"I leave tomorrow." He warned. "You'll have until morning."

And so I sit here now, writing out the feelings that are going through my head about his offer.

I've learned so much about the world, how souls and ghosts exist and such, so going with Oliver would mean that I would get to learn more. I'd get to travel too…maybe I'll meet a Weapon along the way? On the other hand, I've never even left the country before. I don't know what's out there. I suppose Oliver would be with me, at least…

I'd continue to use my powers. Like Oliver said, my original goal was to turn them off, not willingly accept them! But all of my arguments point to one direction: I must go with him. How strange. I wonder what my life will be like now?

…

Oliver and I are now staying in a hotel in New York. We flew here in the early hours of the day, rested a bit and ate, and then I was told to dress in my best, because we were going to see some important people.

Working as a waitress, I did not have any need for fancy clothing, because I had nowhere to go to wear them. I supposed I could have gotten a date, but I signed up for as many shifts as possible, so I was busy. That, and I'm a little plain.

So I settled on whatever I had, a skirt with a buttoned shirt. I hoped tying my hair up in a bun helped, along with a spare pair of earrings. I was still underdressed, compared to Oliver, who was wearing a suit. When did he pack that?

"It's all I have, really." I said.

"Come on." He ordered.

We went back down the elevator to the lobby, where the 'meeting' was to take place. At a table sat two people, a man and a woman, also dressed formally. I felt small in their presence.

"Mr. Bishop, Ms. Marine." Oliver greeted stiffly. I had a feeling they were his bosses or some other type of superior. "Might I introduce you to my apprentice, Ms. Georgia Douglass?"

A "pleased to meet you," popped out of my mouth as I shook their hands.

"Your power is strong, Ms. Douglass. I can see why Oliver chose you." Ms. Marine said. She must have been performing a quick Séance sometime earlier, perhaps when we were walking towards their table. "And your decision to join us is sincere. I see no reason to not accept you among our ranks."

"Thank you."

"You will need to sign some paperwork, I'm afraid. This contract also describes what sort of work you'll be doing, so read it carefully. In the meantime, we will brief Mr. Grey on your mission." Mr. Bishop said, giving me a stack of papers to read and sign.

It was also a test. On the second page, there were two empty boxes. It said at the top I was to look at Mr. Bishop and Ms. Marine's souls and draw them. There were also a few questions about the exorcism process, which weren't all that difficult. I answered them, and moved on to the job description.

Destiny Company Officer

As an officer of our company, you will receive missions from our office. We will contact you at the number or address of your choosing. If you complete your missions, you will be rewarded monetarily. How much money you receive depends on the level of difficult the mission is.

I looked over the terms one last time, and my fate was sealed.


	5. Chapter 5

Soul Trance!

Chapter five: Family! A quarrel happening on different sides of the world?

In a hotel in South Africa, Kami was remembering her phone call to Maka.

"Hello Maka!

"You said you had some big news! What is it?

"…What? He did?

"…When?

"What did your Papa say?

"I'm in South Africa, so I can't.

"No. I don't approve of this. I am not letting my daughter marry her Weapon. Dear Shinigami!

A long pause.

"Where's Soul? I want to talk to him.

"I bet he's at the club with Spirit! Men are all the same!

"Yes, they are! You listen to your Mama, if you go through with this he'll cheat on you too!

"The bond between a meister and weapon should remain just that! You should call this wedding off immediately!

"You are making a huge mistake, Maka! Call it off!"

When she realized she'd just been hung up on, Kami couldn't help but throw her cell phone across the room. The batteries fell out, but the luckily the phone didn't break. Kami, like her daughter, had a temper, so they both needed durable cell phones.

She couldn't believe this. Her daughter, her little angel, had just made the same mistake that she made! She was cordial to the boy, of course, he was her daughter's partner after all, but now that she thought about it those smirks of his _did _seem sketchy to her.

Didn't Maka adopt her philosophies of never trusting a man? She remembered the day she had enough and left. She was coming back early on a meister-only mission. She thought he'd be happy! They would have a big dinner, maybe make some cookies out of the frozen dough in the freezer, and they could read to Maka together. But no, she came back to an empty house, empty save for a quiet sobbing coming from upstairs.

How dare he leave Maka alone in the house! Yes, arguably she was mature for her age, but she was only a child! She flew up the staircase to Maka's room, to find her hiding under the covers on her bed. Maka squealed at the sound of a lightning crack.

"Maka!"

"Mama? I'm scared! The storm made the lights go out!" She hugged her mother like her life depended on it. Maka didn't like lightning storms.

"Where's your Papa?" Kami hissed.

"He said he'd be back by now…maybe he's caught in the storm?" Maka lied. She knew he was at the club with his "friends". Though, it _was _possible he was caught in the storm. As much as she hated his cheating, he was still her father, and she didn't wish his death. "There he is!"

The door opened, and Spirit stumbled in drunkenly. Kami was furious. She couldn't take this anymore. "Good bye Maka. I'm going to…have a word with Papa. I love you."

"Good bye?"

…

Eventually, Kami realized that she was being selfish, not going to her only daughter's wedding. Wasn't it supposed to be a happy time? She was supposed to be crying over how beautiful Maka looked in her wedding gown, remembering not to bring tissues because of superstition, and all that jazz. Now she had royally screwed that all up for Maka.

_What have I done?_

Maka might be considering her words. She might have called off the wedding. To the man she loved.

No. She wouldn't. Kami's never heard her be so defiant, not against her anyway. She would definitely be upset though…should she call back and apologize? No, Maka wouldn't answer—she had caller ID. Kami could call fifty times and Maka would never pick up. _She might not ever want to see me again…_

_What have I done?_

For the first time since her dramatic departure, Kami cried.

Her sobbing was short-lived however; she had an idea. It was a low blow, she admitted, but she had to apologize no matter what. She also didn't want to call this number. Why did she even store in her phone? She went down her contact list to the number that she didn't even bother to type the name.

MY EX-HUSBAND THE JERK

"Hello?" Spirit answered.

"Spirit…I know this is rude of me to ask, but I need your help." Kami said. She knew from her ex's tone that he was genuinely upset.

"If this is about Maka—"

"PLEASE! Please help me! I have to apologize for what I said! But she won't answer any of my calls! I thought if maybe _you _talked to her…" Kami pleaded. "Oh, who am I kidding? Maka will never forgive me!"

"Kami…"

"Please, Spirit, please help me! You know if it wasn't important I wouldn't be calling you! I'm her _mother, _Spirit!"

"If you must know," Spirit said carefully, "during the ceremony, Maka insisted that there was a chair waiting for you if you came."

"She did?" Kami almost dropped the phone out of shock.

"Yes. So I think if maybe you gave her a little time, she'll come around." (He could also say this about himself, of course.)

"I don't have time to lose!"

"Umm…Kami…they're on their honeymoon. Now's _probably _not the best time…" If Spirit hadn't set things straight with Soul earlier, he would have been appalled at himself for letting the two go on vacation together.

"Spirit, _please!" _

Even if they were divorced, Spirit could never say no to Kami. "Don't blame me if this doesn't work."

"THANK YOU!"

"You're welcome."

…

As Maka woke, Soul was very pleased with some things she didn't do. One, she didn't protest after waking up naked, and two, she didn't get pissed that he was watching her sleep. Again. However, he was first and foremost pleased by her cute wake-up kiss, of which he responded eagerly.

"Hey." Soul said, showing off his sexy time face. Maka threw a pillow at him.

"Don't laugh at me! You're always laughing!"

"Aw, c'mon, Maka…"

"What were you dreaming about last night? You seemed…scared, almost. Mr. Cool's not scared, is he?" She teased.

"What? I don't remember." He lied. He had that dream again, the one where he lost his powers. Of course, this time he had Maka to hug the nightmares away. Oh boy. He needed to stop thinking about that. Damn Black*Star, watching him sleep, going in his bed…why were they friends?

Maka pouted. She hated when he did this. "Don't give me that, Soul. You can tell me. I'm your wife, remember?"

Great. She just got another card to play. You can tell me, I'm your meister! I'm your friend! I'm your roommate, classmate, fellow citizen of Death City…whatever connection she could make up to get him to tell her what was on his mind.

"Damn it, Maka." He grumbled. "I had a dream, no, I had a nightmare, that I lost my weapon powers. Even a cool guy like me could admit that's a _little _scary. _But, _there's one good thing that's in the dream."

"Hmm?"

"There's a girl in the dream—"

"WHAT?" Maka sat back up angrily.

"Wha-no! A _little _girl, who looks just like you, but with sharp teeth. I think she's our daughter." After watching the dream for the second time, he realized that the dream-Maka and dream-Soul looked strange was that they looked older.

"EH?" She panicked. She grabbed the sheets around her, creating some sort of shield to hide her face in. She said into the fabric, "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." Her voice was no longer lively, even if lively meant irritated.

"Maka?"

"What?"

"How do you feel about that?" He said hesitantly. Maka was still hiding her face, meaning Soul couldn't tell what she was feeling besides that she was thinking. He remembered all of her previous reactions to comments about children. Yes, Blaire was probably teasing more than anything, but Soul thought Spirit's desire for grandkids was authentic, if not perverted.

"About what?" She played dumb, probably trying to stall. At least she put the bedding down. Surprisingly, her face wasn't as red as Soul predicted it would be.

"About having kids with me."

"Oh. Maybe." She was very confused about this conversation. Didn't he remember her parents? He should! Even he went through some hard times with his parents. Now suddenly, out of the blue, he asks about kids?

"Oh." Soul said, slightly disappointed. It wasn't clear if it was because he didn't hear the answer he wanted or because of the 'maybe'. A corny, _really_ uncool part of Soul admitted that he wanted to be a dad. He imagined that little girl so vividly! He didn't believe that dreams could be premonitions, because there wasn't a way to lose your weapon powers, but still…

Soul remembered that sometime during the reception he'd glanced over at Wes, who was tickling his wife's belly again. They looked so happy, and he got a little curious. He gazed at the huge tummy, wishing he had Soul Perception like Maka so he could see the little soul that was in there. Did having a child really bring that much happiness?

"You're not having one of those 'gotta spread your genes around' moments, are you?"

"What?" He stopped thinking about the little girl in his dream.

"It's a simple male instinct." Maka went into teacher mode. "Men are such animals. Maybe that's why I hate them so much. Except you, of course!" She smiled hesitantly, realizing that she offended him. (Well, not him personally, but he _was _in possession of a Y chromosome.)

"Animal, you say?" He said in a sing-song voice, pouncing on her like he did last night.

Maka quickly realized that she had left herself _wide_ open for jokes or perhaps other things. "Soul, you know I didn't mean it like that…Soul…"

They were interrupted by Maka's phone. Soul whined that she had _left her phone on during their honeymoon, _and that _how dare whoever it was bother him! _Maka agreed, after reading the caller ID.

"MAKA! Angel! I'm so, so, so sorry to interrupt you but there's something I _must _tell you!"

"Papa." The daughter spat. "Don't you realize I'm busy?"

"But Maka! It's Kami!"—Maka's heart froze—"She wants to talk to you!"

"Well, tell her I won't! I can't believe that she called _you _to persuade me to call her back! I'm sorry, Papa, I won't talk to her. Bye."

Maka, angry, lay back down and soon felt the comfort of Soul's fingers running through her hair. He did that a lot, but she surprisingly never got annoyed by it. They were quiet for a long time. She stared at the small little phone that was now on the floor, battery falling out.

"She's my mother…" She frowned. The pair was silent for a long while.

"Hey Maka! I have an idea! Let's order all the food on the room service menu!" Soul said in an attempt to cheer her up and also to fill his stomach. They were on vacation, damn it! He was allowed to eat whatever he wanted in whatever quantity that he wanted!

Soul jumped out of bed, and by the time he returned he announced that he had ordered two of everything on the menu. So, if Maka wanted, she could have cake for breakfast. Instead, Maka ordered him to put on some pants. Soul took this as Maka forgetting (at least for now) about her mother.

…

"Hey, Soul." Maka said, putting down her fruity drink. After they gorged themselves with room service, they put on their swimsuits and were lounging by the pool.

"What?"

"Soul,I was wondering what you thought of your grandma's reaction to the Last Score. What were they doing in your pocket anyway? I thought you put them in your suitcase."

"I didn't want to lose them; they looked important. Why do you ask?"

"It was odd, that's all. She just kinda freaked out when she saw them. Do you know why?"

"Makaaaaaa. We're not talking about this right now."

"But Soul, this could be important!" Maka said.

"All that's important right now is you and me." He gestured to the both of them in turn and then slid his sunglasses back up his nose. "Just sit back and reeeeeellllaaaaax. Maybe we'll hit the beach later. This island's supposed to have beautiful sunsets."

Maka pouted, but she knew he was right, and she could always force some answers out of him later. She also could not believe how absolutely corny Soul could be, when he wanted to. Well, he probably didn't want to; he probably wasn't even aware! _Talking about sunsets, seriously! Then he has the nerve to look all cool with his sunglasses! _

She looked around at the other people sitting around the pool, more couples. She guessed that half of them were honeymooners like them and the other half couples on anniversary trips, given their ages.

"Maka, what's wrong? Do you want to go to the beach now?"

"Oh, I was just wondering, why'd you choose this island? I thought you would choose somewhere more…I dunno…unique?"

"This island _is_ unique. It is one of the few places on Earth where the Kishin or madness cannot enter, or at least that's what Kid said. I thought you would think that was cool." Soul explained.

"That is cool! Did Kid tell you how it works?"

"Uh…Mostly he was talking about how the island's perfectly symmetrical and then that came up."

"Hmph." Maka lay back down on her chair after adjusting her sunglasses.

…

That night, they decided to go to a fancy restaurant (They had skipped lunch due to their…ahem…_very _large breakfast). They sat at one of the tables outside so they could see the sunset, which is, of course, a very spectacular sight if the sun and moon are continuously laughing at you.

"I was just thinking…what are we going to do when we get back?" Maka asked.

"Eh?" Soul said between huge bites of his fish.

"Well, um, now that you're a three-star meister, you're supposed to start over and make another deathscythe. And I'm supposed to go through deathscythe training…but I'm a three-star meister too and you never really went through training! Things are so messed up!" Maka elaborated. "Or we could both go through training together or both start over with new weapons…"

"Far as I know, you're my only meister and my only weapon." Soul declared.

"Yeah." Maka smiled, liking his answer. "Hey, look, the sun's going down!"

…

Miles away, Kami was also watching the sun. She, however, was not marveling at its beauty. Instead she simply gazed, not wanting to look at the cell phone that was in her hands. Spirit had called earlier, apologizing that her plan did not work and also howling that now Maka was annoyed him as well.

He did not mention that she was angrier with Kami than she was with him, nor did he completely realize this.

Spirit quieted down a little after that. Kami had asked him what the wedding was like. He replied, "Very lively! Shinigami Kid started yelling during the vows about Soul being the 8th of his family or something…I couldn't quite make out the words…so Shinigami decided he was now Shinigami Kid the 8th."

"That sounds like him." She surprised herself by smiling a little.

"And their dance was wonderful! They both took turns dancing around with each other in weapon form. Everyone was very impressed. I don't think Soul's family is afraid of weapons anymore!"

"What?"

"Oh, well, it's probably not my place to say, but Soul is one of those weapons who had to run away to get to Shibusen. His mother and father misunderstood him."

"Oh. I see. I didn't know that. Do you think _he_ will forgive me?" Kami wondered if maybe _this _might be her greatest obstacle—if Soul didn't like her anymore, then Maka wouldn't either.

"He's reasonable. If he can forgive me for being overprotective of Maka, I think he'll come around too."

"Alright. Thank you, Spirit."

"No problem."

"Bye."

…

…

…

Observations of the Soul Exorcist

This time, Oliver and I traveled to some ancient Egyptian ruins, where our employer was to meet us at a certain time. When we arrived by truck, there was a second van already waiting, even though we were quite early. Oliver and I got out of the truck and ventured forward, trying to see who was the owner of the van.

A strange man was sitting on a camping chair outside his vehicle, examining the ruins by binoculars. He set them aside when he heard us approach.

"Oh, hello again, William." Oliver said. He knew him? I've never known Oliver to know anyone but his family, and myself of course. Surely, though, he must have had other friends besides his apprentice.

The man—William—saw us, and his face was the strangest I've ever seen. His hair was pure white and his eyes a deep red, tilted in such a fashion like he was eternally laughing. An albino, that was it.

"Still as dry as ever, eh, Oliver? Ah, but who's the pretty lady?"

"My apprentice, Georgia Douglass. Georgia, this is a…friend of mine, Dr. William Evans. He's well versed in history. He studies the history of haunted buildings and places."

"Call me Will, Ms. Douglass, no need for formality." He bent down and kissed my hand in an over-the-top fashion.

"P-please, call me Georgia." I responded, embarrassed that I was acting like a young girl. I hadn't acted like that in…a long time. I've been working too hard.

"So, my friend, what are you and the lady up to? An exorcism perhaps?" He hinted. "I've already done a little research on this place and the books say it's definitely haunted. Figured I might as well take a look for myself."

"What else have you heard?" Oliver asked as we followed Will to the back of his van, where he had pulled out spare chairs.

"Sunblock?" He offered. "I swear I have to keep an inch layer if I don't want to get sunburnt; albino skin and all…" 

"Thank you." I said.

"No problem, my dear. Don't want your beautiful skin turning red, do we?"

Well, it did, in a different way.

"Ahem. Will. You said you had research?" Oliver pressed. He was annoyed by Will's attitude. I was surprised that they were friends; Oliver was always so serious and Will so much more light-hearted.

"Right. There's not much written about these ruins, just some old legends, really…"

"Yes?"

"From my readings, a witch cursed a man here. It's vague but…it seems like he was fighting the witch until the witch cursed him and his family. Of course, it's only a legend, but when I was in there last week I think there might be some truth in it."

"How so?" I asked, curious.

"There are signs of a struggle, if you look inside, and as for the witch…there are some strange scorch marks that I've never seen before. If we used our imaginations, y'know, it could be a witch's doing." He laughed.

I was about to open my mouth and tell him that witches existed (they didn't bother exorcists, but it was best to be aware) and that Oliver taught me what their souls look like, but Oliver shot me a glance. It meant to not tell him about that. But weren't they friends? I was very confused on their relationship.

"So, then, the ghost we are looking for is of the cursed man?" He checked his watch. "Two o'clock. Our employer's late."

"Oh! That's right! I'm your new employer! I wanted to see you again, so I figured next time I found a haunted spot I'd give you a call—"

"WILL! Don't you realize how dangerous this could be?" Oliver shouted, but the albino only gave another goofy grin.

"Don't worry; don't worry, I'm still going to pay you!" This calmed my mentor down a little, thankfully. "But yes. We are looking for the cursed man."

…

After our talk, we decided to enter the ruins themselves, a cave of sorts surrounded by blocks of carved rocks. Dark inside, we switched on our flashlights and adjusted our backpacks. After assuring him I could jump over the puddle myself (he still held my hand as I crossed), Will pointed out the scratch marks on the walls and the scorch mark that he had mentioned earlier.

"At the time these marks were made," he explained, "There wasn't a weapon that could make this mark so large and not blow down the wall itself. Even the scratches themselves seem too large to be a normal weapon."

"How is this useful?" Oliver said.

"Well, I was following this battle until I started to hear a strange voice, right about here."

The three of us closed our eyes and listened as hard as we could. And there it was! A man's voice, but I could only catch a couple of words: witch, please, don't…

It was very faint, but the soul of the cursed man was only a few yards away from us.

"A very strong soul. Georgia, why don't you handle this one?"

"Right." He's always accompanied me while I was on missions…I reached out with my mind and slowly was able to form the connection between our two souls.

I was in a room. It was once beautiful and clean, I could tell. Tall candles burnt down in high posts and dusty curtains littered the walls. Curious…usually the spaces I entered had nothing in them, except for the spirit's avatar, of course, which was currently missing. Hiding? My eyes traced the red tiles of the floor…color?

"Hello? Is anyone here?" I called.

A pale man stepped out of the shadows. "GET OUT!" He roared, but I stood my ground. Some spirits were angry, but they could not harm me here. "WOMAN! GET OUT OF HERE!"

"My name is Georgia. What is your name?" I asked, as if speaking to a young child.

"It does not matter. I am no one."

"All right, no one, why are you so angry? I hear you are creating quite a fuss on the other side."

"I shouldn't have believed her, shouldn't have asked, why am I such a _coward?" _The nameless man paced back and forth.

I wasn't exactly sure how to follow up on his rantings, but my main goal was to quiet the spirit down so I could convince him to pass on. "Well, you can trust me."

"Why have you come?" he sneered, showing off sharp teeth. I tried not to flinch.

"I am here to exorcise your soul. Your time has passed, and it is my duty to—"

"NO! I WILL NOT LEAVE; NOT YET!"

With that, our connection had broken. I had failed. I sat back in the dark ruins in shock for a few seconds.

"Oliver, I—" I tried to apologize, but he shushed me instead.

"It left. You did not exorcise it but I no longer feel its presence in these ruins….it was more powerful than I had thought, and old." He said, and returned to Will, "I am truly sorry. We have failed, but if it's any consolation, the soul has left the ruins and probably won't return here."

"Hmm…" William pondered. "That's fine! As long as it's gone, right? Now let's get out of this dump, shall we?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The Evans Curse! Why is Soul reading?

Maka was reading the diary on the plane ride home. Soul was looking at the book too, interested, but he was a slow reader and couldn't keep up.

Observations of the Soul Exorcist

"We just keep bumping into each other, don't we?" I recognized that voice! It was Will!

I smiled as Oliver and I got out of the cab. We were told to meet our next job at the train station, and that he would recognize us. I thought it sounded fishy at first.

"Let me guess, you hired us because you were lonely and wanted to waste my time?" Oliver commented sarcastically, but still shook the hand offered to him. He wasn't _that _impolite at least.

"Oh, Oliver, is that a way to treat a friend? And I'm not wasting your time, this is a job, and very important! And _don't worry, _I'll pay you upfront." He assured, and remembered me. "Ms. Douglass, lovely as always! I hope your mentor hasn't passed on his greedy ways on to you?"

I blushed at his smile. "It's nice to see you too, Mr. Evans."

"Will."

"Will."

…

We boarded a train where Will said he'd explain to us the next thing he wanted us to do. It was surprising to hear that he wanted us to investigate the building that served as his childhood home.

"When I found out my own house had some mystery attached to it I knew you two should come along! Might be some spirits in there!"

"…Yes. We'll take a look." Oliver said, stopping all real conversation for at least a half an hour, by which the time my mentor had fallen asleep.

"So, Ms. Georgia, while our friend is asleep, would you mind if I asked you a few questions?"

"Of course. What would you like to know?"

"About you. How did you get caught up in all this business?" He asked, lacing his hands together. "Unless it is too personal, of course."

"No, it's quite alright. It's just a long story, that's all!"

I told him everything. And he was so _interested. _He laughed at all the right times and asked real questions. It felt so natural to be talking to him.

I asked Will why he was so interested in history. It was an honest question, really. I've never seen a person so passionate for learning about the past. I admired that a little; sure I _liked _exorcising, but it wasn't my passion.

"When I was growing up, I lived with my uncle. He used to tell me ghost stories. My favorite was the one he told about how our family was cursed."

I could see how eager he was to tell me the tale too, so I asked him to tell me the story.

"Legend has it that the very first Evans was captured one day by an evil spider witch. She used her spider minions to force him to drink a potion. The potion made him become a sort of shape shifter, who could turn into a weapon"—my ears perked at the word—"at will, and he was shunned by the rest of the town, labeled as a freak. He ran away, and started to wander the countryside.

"Then, one day during his travels, he met a woman. She was kind, and Evans quickly fell in love with her. But one day, he accidently transformed in front of her. He told her his story, and she didn't care if Evans was a shape shifter or not.

"Unfortunately, one of the witch's spider minions was watching, and the witch, jealous of their love, came to his home with the intent on killing the woman. Evans stood in front of her, protecting her from the witch's attack, but by doing so—or so the story goes—all of his descendants could also transform into weapons."

I told him that I thought it was strangely romantic, putting himself in front like that, and he blushed. I giggled. We talked for a little longer, but he soon fell asleep, so I decided to do a Séance.

The story that he told me was true! He had some trace of Weapon blood in his soul! I can't wait to tell him tomorrow. I'm sure he'll enjoy it.

…

"Finally home!" Maka rejoiced when they finally stepped inside. "Hmm. Funny. I thought it would feel different somehow…"

"Why should it? It's home."

"I don't know…" Maka said. Their home looked exactly the same, maybe a little cleaner but otherwise unchanged. "Hey! Where are you going with my bag?"

Soul turned around sharply with a perplexed look on his face. "I'm putting the luggage away in our room. Duh."

"What?"

"Don't tell me we're going to be one of those uncool couples who don't sleep in the same room!"

"Then move your stuff into my room."

"Hell no! Besides, don't you always come and sleep in my bed anyway?"

"But it'll take forever to move all of my books…"

"_That's _what this is about? Moving books?" He asked, confused. "Keep the books in your room. And then bring your dresser here and I'll move some stuff in my closet for your clothes."

"I thought you _didn't speak Ikea?" _Maka quoted, but to no avail; her husband didn't remember saying that and the joke wasn't that funny in the first place (perhaps that was the reason he "didn't remember"). "What is my old room going to be, oh master of interior design?"

"The study? Or maybe a guest room?"

"A study! That's a great idea!"

First "typical married couple" argument resolved! They both entered _their _room and collapsed on the bed, exhausted from travel. After a moment of consideration, Maka turned to face Soul.

"We should try _our _bed out, don't you think?" Maka implied. "What do you say, husband?"

Soul was very pleased of Maka's boldness; she was never one to act in this way, and if Soul was being honest he almost thought she was kidding for a second. "I think that's a great idea, my dear wife."

A few minutes later, Soul's shirt was already off (his attachment to his shirt was equal to Blaire and, well, clothing in general) and Maka's hair was all tangled up in his fingers. Then, someone or something crashed through the window. The couple, startled, looked up. It was blue.

"Yahoo! Your God has come to welcome you back home!" Black*Star cheered.

"Get. Out. Now." The couple said in unison while he blabbered on about Godliness, not noticing anything interesting about the, ahem, amount of skin his friends were showing.

Realizing that he wasn't going to leave, Soul quickly devised an evil plan to get Black*Star to leave. It would probably piss a lot of people off (mainly Maka) but it would work. In one fluid motion while Black*Star was talking, he was somehow able to expose his wife's chest to the ninja, who immediately laughed.

"HAHAHAHA she really does have no boobs!" He guffawed. Soul took this opportunity to kick him out the window.

"Sorry. It's the first thing I thought of. So…"

"I don't care. If this wasn't totally your fault I would have kicked you out to the couch. Lie down and go to sleep." She ordered.

"Yes dear." He obeyed.

…

That dream…again? Soul was getting tired of it. The pain he felt at the end was getting unbearable. He did, however, enjoy that he was able to walk around the scene, not just float somewhere above. He liked looking at the young girl, the one he believed to be his daughter. It _had _to be! She looked exactly like Maka, with a hint of sharp teeth. That meant she got the scythe gene from him! Soul wondered what her weapon form looked like.

"_We love you just the way you are, no matter what, don't we?" Maka said. _

Then something different happened. The scene froze, except for the dream-Maka, who turned around to face Soul directly. "You should have read the diary, Soul. You should have read the diary. Page 231."

"What?" Soul said, confused, as the Maka went back to her family as if she had never spoken.

"_Yep!" The unfamiliar girl agreed, and squeezed his hand tight. _

…

Soul shot up in bed. Immediately he went to Maka's dresser where he knew Maka was keeping his grandmother's diary. He didn't want to wake Maka up, so he left the bedroom to read in his favorite chair in the living room.

He turned the page to 231—how long _was _this book, anyway?—and read.

…

Today Will and I were poking around the house, trying to find things about his Weapon blood. It turns out there were hints of the Weapon blood _everywhere. _The family crest had little scythes on it, for example, but what was most interesting was Will's father.

Will has…interesting parents. His father ran away from home at a young age, and his family didn't see him much after that. It was said that he became some sort of policeman or other enforcer of the law, with his wife Tina was his partner. He came home after his final mission, and died before he could see his son, as his wife was pregnant at the time. She died during childbirth, and Will was given to his uncle, who could not have children.

This story is almost true. After finding Tina's diary among Will's things, we learned that his father was actually a Weapon, a really powerful one! His wife was able to wield him, earning her the title of "meister", and that he had run to a school to train his abilities, just as I remembered from my original research about Weapons. He, of course, had chosen to fight.

But what was most interesting was his death, morbidly enough. The diary says that Will's father Peter had actually _lost _his powers, making him depressed, and he eventually killed himself over that. Well, they couldn't find a body, but from what Tina says there was a room in this very house that only he could see.

She also wrote down a sort of prophecy that Peter told her. It mentioned what was called the "Evans Curse". At first we thought it was the ability to transform into a weapon, but Will and I were wrong.

One of William's ancestors, generations ago, was a scythe. His name was Solomon Evans. From what we have found out, one day he was fighting with a witch, and was losing after his meister had gone missing. Scythes are a Weapon type that work best when someone is using them, using logic. Anyway, he pleaded to the witch to spare his life, but when she did she informed him that she had cursed his family.

All of the Evans scythes that would come after him would lose their weapon forms on their 23th year because that was how old he was when he started the curse. It would happen as long as Solomon's soul still lived. That was the Evans Curse.

What was even more interesting was that I had heard this story before—it was at our job in Egypt (coincidentally the first time I met Will).

…

"Lose my powers?" Soul asked aloud, groggy from sleep.

"Soul? What are you doing out here?" Maka wandered in, shielding her eyes from the light. "Hey, isn't staying up all night reading _my _thing?"

"Hey, um, Maka? Is it possible for someone to lose their weapon powers?" Soul asked cautiously.

Maka considered it, scanning through her infinite knowledge, but concluded negatively. "No. Since your weapon abilities are in your DNA, the only way you could lose them if somebody were about to go in, take that gene out, and put you back together again. But…then you wouldn't be the same person, or even still human. Either way, it's impossible. Is that some sort of scary science fiction book? Who's it by? It sounds exciting!"

"It's Granny's. It says here that she found some research about a sort of curse. See?" He tossed her the book, trying to be nonchalant. In fact, he felt conflicted. Hearing Maka say it was impossible was comforting, but those dreams, what did they mean? And why didn't anyone tell him about this stupid curse thing earlier? He stomped over to the phone and dialed her number. It took her a long time to answer, but he was greeted by a confused but cheery voice.

"Soul, dear, whatever is the matter? I thought you were still on your honeymoon!" She laughed, making Soul unhappy.

"Why didn't you tell me about the Evans Curse, Granny?" He cut to the chase.

"Oh, honey…"

"Just tell me."

"I didn't want to worry you…I wanted to protect you. I didn't even _see_ you until you visited us in Vegas. There wasn't a way for me to contact you in Death City…"

"You saw us at the wedding. You could have told me then."

"I didn't want to spoil your happiness. I didn't know what the right time would be…" She trailed off. "So I take it you read my book?"

"Yes. Tell me what else you know."

"Let me start with the beginning, your name. When your parents learned you were a boy, they wanted to name you Solomon, because that was a family name, like they told you. But, by the time the gender has declared itself, I can use my Soul Séance. It was clear that you were a Weapon. I fought against their name choice, because such a name would disgrace you.

"Your ancestor, the first Solomon Evans, was a coward who damned the family to spare his life." She spat. "He pleaded mercy with a witch while his meister was looking for him. He begged, and the witch agreed. In exchange for his life, she would curse our family.

"You see, as long as Solomon's soul still roams the Earth, Evans scythes would lose their weapon forms when they turned 23 years old."

"So that means…"

"Yes. In a year, you will no longer be a weapon. During my time, I came across Solomon's soul. It is not attached to his body. I was unable to exorcise it at the time because I was too weak. I have been searching for him, but have never found it. It will be Maka's job to exorcise the soul when you find it."

"How will we know where to find him?"

"It won't be that easy, but there are clues everywhere. You just have to know where to look."

"Where should we start?"

"Read my book. There's more information in there. And also try the Last Score of Peter Evans. I took them from you at the wedding, but I asked your blue haired friend to sneak it back in your bags. He told me he was an assassin or something."

"Black*Star."

"Yes, that's him."

The two were quiet for a while. "I'll go tell Maka."

"Yes. Goodbye, Soul."

"Bye." He hung up the phone deliberately. His face was long and sad, not angry, as he sat down. "I have a year."

Maka sat next to him on the couch, hugging him by the shoulders and then pulling his face into her chest. "Don't worry; I won't let that happen." If she didn't know any better, she knew Soul was in shock. Normally he'd retreat to his room and hide there for a little while, but instead he accepted her comfort. Maka would have been happy that he was finally opening up, but this was not the time.

"I won't let it happen, Soul. You know I won't."

"I have to hurry. C'mon, Maka, let's go." He stood up as if to leave, but Maka tugged on his arm to make him sit.

"Soul. Do you even know where you're going? Be rational! That's what you're always telling me." She explained.

"This is different. I could _lose my weapon powers." _He covered his face with his hands. "I can't lose my powers, I just _can't. _Who would I be without them?"

Maka sat beside him and rubbed his back soothingly. "You'd be Soul Eater, of course. And always remember that I love you just the way you are." She pried his hands away and kissed him softly. "We'll find Solomon and end the curse. Don't worry. We just have to figure out where to start, first."

…

…

…

Family Outing

"Solomon! Are you ready to go?" The boy's grandmother called. "We're leaving in two minutes!"

"WAIT! Wait, I'm ready!" He rushed down the stairs, skipping a few steps and almost tripped. "I'm ready." The young boy reclaimed his composure.

"Good. It's not every day that I get to spend time with my two favorite grandsons. We're going shopping today. If you're good, maybe we'll get some ice cream." She said, smiling at the two boys. The two looked like twins of different ages, each with shocking white hair and red eyes that made some people cringe. The one difference between them was that the younger boy, Solomon, had fangs for teeth.

"I need to go to the music store!" The older boy, Wes, said.

"What do you need there?" Granny asked. She sat in the driver's seat of her car—she loved driving—and the two boys piled into the back seats. The second rule of driving with Granny was no one sits shotgun. The first was everyone wears their seat belts.

"_Well," _Wes began as he clicked his safety belt, "Solomon broke my violin bow…"

"I did not!" His brother protested.

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

Granny giggled at their antics. She knew their parents got irritated when they fought like this. They got pretty noisy, but wasn't that expected of two brothers? "Wes, did you _see _Solomon break your bow?"

"Well…no…but I know it was him! He's always breaking my stuff!"

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Well, Wes, I don't think Solomon did it."

Solomon smiled in triumph, and then stuck his tongue out at his brother.

"Well, if he didn't do it, then who did?"

"I did."

"WHAT?" The brothers shouted in unison. "WHY?"

"So I'd have more time to spend with you two, of course." She said, like it was the most obvious fact in the world. In reality, Wes had put the violin in the cupboard when he was finished practicing, and the forgotten bow had been stepped on by feet unknown. "We'll go to the music store and buy you a new one, Wes. Where do you want to go, Solomon?"

He tried to remember all of the stores in the mall that they frequented, but couldn't come up with any specific one. "I dunno."

"Well, tell me if you think of something, OK?" The woman pulled up to the massive parking lot, found a decent spot, and parked the car.

"OK." Solomon said, joining his grandmother and his brother as they were welcomed by a fresh, air-conditioned breeze. It was much appreciated against the hot weather.

At Wes's insistence, they went to the music store first and purchased him a new violin bow and also a new piece of music for him to play. Solomon was still working on a song his instructor had given him. He complained a lot about his lessons, but whenever Granny would watch him practice on his own he always seemed to be in his own little world.

She bought both boys new shirts and slacks for their school uniforms, because Wes had grown out of his, and Solomon would be starting kindergarten next fall and needed clothes. At the school they attended, dress code was very strict. Granny thought having the young boys dress up formally for school was absurd, especially for the younger children who would get their clothes dirty in a second.

"They have Halloween things out already? Gosh, it's not even September!" Granny exclaimed as they passed the party supply shop.

"Who's that black ghost supposed to be?" Solomon asked, pointing at one of the manikins in the window.

"I think that's supposed to be a Grim Reaper costume. Pretty scary, don't you think?"

"What's that he's holding?"

Granny's face fell as white as the skull mask of the costume. "That's called a scythe." She said after a long pause. Perhaps she shouldn't have told him what that was… "What was that, darling?"

"I said, can I be him for Halloween?" He repeated.

"I don't think that one comes in your size, honey."

"But that scythe is really cool!" He argued.

This was getting more dangerous by the second. Or maybe even ironic. "You'll poke your eye out with that. Why don't you get that pirate costume? Pirates are cool too, right?"

"I guess. But not as cool as that scythe."

Soon they had two costumes picked out (Solomon was going to be a pirate and Wes wanted to be a superhero). Granny said that she'd probably wear her "work clothes" to the Halloween party the Evans family always hosted, even though the boys said that she "always wore that". It was her fortune teller's outfit, complete with scarves, turban, and her pearl necklace.

As they exited the store, Granny overheard what a little girl dressed in pink said to what appeared to be her mother. "Lookit, it's Papa!" She was pointing to the same manikin that Solomon had noticed. Specifically, the scythe the model was carrying.

Paranoid, she shepherded her grandsons together and pulled them into the toy store located two stores down from where they were. _Keep your wits about you, Georgia, you can't tell him yet, at least not here…_

She remembered the advice she got when she found out he was a Weapon. She was not to tell him what he was until he began to transform. She was to keep him away from weapons of any sort, young Weapons were often lured to them. She pretty much knew that her grandson was going to be a scythe, given his bloodline, so she took good care of keeping him away from sharp objects.

But why, oh why did they have to set up a Grim Reaper costume on display?

"How's this. Each of you can pick out a toy and then we'll get some ice cream, OK?"

The boys smiled—a new toy _and _ice cream?—and separated, Wes going to the older kid's aisle and Solomon to wander. He didn't know what he wanted yet. He wished he could have had the scythe that he saw at the costume shop. It was hard to explain but it…called for him. Something about that cheap piece of plastic felt familiar to him, but he didn't know why. No matter what it was, he couldn't get it out of his head.

Solomon picked up an action figure and turned the corner sharply, knocking into someone. It was a girl! The only girls his age that he met were all afraid of him and his teeth. Truth be told, the boys were a little scared too. "Sorry."

"It's OK!" She brightly responded, and smiled. "I know you didn't mean it!"

The boy couldn't help but smile back. Her smile was contagious, but the first thing that he noticed about her was her two, giant green eyes.

"Your teeth are funny. Can you crack peanuts with them?"

"Err…no…" Solomon said. He'd never tried.

"Hey, I saw you at the costume shop! Did you see the Shinigami costume in the window?"

"You mean the Grim Reaper one? I wanted that, but my Granny says it didn't come in my size. I asked her if I could at least have the scythe, but she said no."

"You wouldn't want to be Shinigami for Halloween! He's not scary at all! I've met him _loads _of times." She boasted, as if meeting the Reaper was something to be proud of. "But the scythe is cool! It looks just like my Papa!"

"Your Papa?"

"Oh…I'm not supposed to talk about that to strangers…"

From down the aisle, Wes called, "Chompers! Granny's calling you! Did you pick out something yet?"

"I gotta go. Bye!"

"Bye!"

At the ice cream parlor, Solomon asked, "Granny, can I crack peanuts with my teeth?"

"You shouldn't, dear, you'll make a mess, and your mother won't like that, right?" She was highly confused. As for the mess issue, that was totally true, even if it wasn't her that cleaned up around the house. They had a housekeeper for that. "Why do you ask?"

"A girl I met asked me if I could."

"A _girl _talked to you?" Wes snickered, causing Solomon's face to turn bright red.

He continued to tease his brother while their grandmother saw in her peripheral vision a suspicious-looking character. He wore a trench coat—strange, given the weather—which was unbuttoned to reveal a white t-shirt with a symbol printed on it. It could easily be mistaken as a brand logo, but Granny knew what it meant.

So. They were tailing them. She had to do something about this…but what?

She saw her little Solomon, pouting as he was accused of _liking _that girl. Her little _scythe. _She had to protect him.

8 years later (Kid would be proud…)

Soul was in the kitchen, trying to open a bag of shelled peanuts. Getting frustrated after a mere two seconds, he snipped the bag open with a hand-scythe. He poured a handful into a bowl and sat on the couch to watch a basketball game on TV. Repeatedly he would put a nut in his mouth, crack it open with his teeth, and then throw the shell back in the bowl so he could eat the good part inside.

"Stop it, Soul, that's gross!" Maka said when she noticed. "Whoever told you to do that was an idiot."

"_Your teeth are funny. Can you crack peanuts with them?"_

It was foggy, but he remembered the young girl who asked him that question. If he recalled correctly, she had green eyes and blonde hair. Could it have been Maka? Naw, it couldn't have been. He ate another peanut. _But if it was, she just called herself an idiot. _

A/n Sorry about the wait, guys! This school term has been really tough for me, and I haven't had much time to write. I do know, however, where I want to go with the rest of this, so I'll be back as soon as I can!


	7. Chapter 7

Soul Exorcism!

Chapter seven: The journey begins! A mystery in the making?

"We should tell the others. And let them know we have to leave."

"Black*Star's gonna laugh." Soul complained.

"No he won't. This curse isn't your fault. He wouldn't be cruel." She put her hands on her hips, defending their ninja friend.

"He made fun of my scar once." Soul argued. "Said it looked weird or something."

"It does look weird, but only because Stein did the stitching." Not for the first time, Maka wondered if she would have reacted any differently if someone else had stitched Soul's wound, making it less visible. Now, of course, it wasn't as big a deal since she had a matching, symmetrical scar too. "Go get ready."

…

"A curse?" Kid repeated. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. And the only way to break it is to exorcise Soul's great-great-great-something grandpa." Maka said.

"Shinigami Kid! Looky who I found!" Patti entered the room, carrying a furry object that surprisingly wasn't a yellow giraffe. No, it was a feline with a little witch's hat on its head.

"Nya~? Who's cursed?" Blaire, in cat form hopped on the table.

"Soul is."

"You didn't know? I thought you'd see it with your Perception powers!"

"What!"

"There should be a little mark on his soul. It'll be the signature of the witch who cast it." Blaire explained. "You should look. Maybe I'll know whose it is."

Maka glared at the cat for a moment, angry that she didn't tell them about the curse before. If she had, they could have started this whole journey earlier! They could have already found it by now! But, Blaire was still a cat when it came down to it.

"Soul Séance." Maka looked into Soul's soul, using her more advanced technique to get a closer look. It looked the same as ever—two colored, red and black, separated by a zig-zag line, and a Black Blood stain in the corner. Maka noticed that the face on the orb wasn't smirking as much as it used to. It was happy. Fascinated with the change of expression, the exorcist looked near the eyes, where she saw a disfigurement. Written in white was some sort of insect. Was that the signature?

"It looks like a bug." Maka announced.

"There are lots of bug witches. I don't know which one it would be."

"Why didn't you tell me I was cursed, Blaire?" It was Soul's turn to snap. "How'd you even _know?" _She didn't have any sort of Perception, last he checked.

"I'm a cat, remember? I can sense things." She replied haughtily. "And I could only sense it recently. If the curse has to do with age it'll get more noticeable as time goes on, see? So I bet'cha it's some sort of age curse!"

"That does make sense." Maka agreed. "It is an age curse. That's why we have to leave right away! We have to go find this soul!"

"Where are you going to look first?" Tsubaki asked.

"Well, I was thinking about checking some ruins in Egypt where Soul's grandmother first saw the soul we're tracking. It might have gone back there." Maka said.

"I'll prepare your transportation." Kid nodded solemnly.

…

Kid decided to let Maka and Soul use his own private jet for their quest. "Symmetry will help you find the soul," was his excuse. The plane was perfectly symmetrical—Kid wouldn't fly in any other plane. Of course, he had his flying skateboard, but that would mean Liz and Patti would be in their weapon forms, and Liz would complain of a sore back after a long flight.

Maka asked the three if they wanted to join them, but they declined; they chose to stay behind and check the library for any more information on curses. Kid also had duties to the school. Tsubaki had said no as well; her partner might cause some trouble, especially if they were going into caves and such, where, Maka said, lots of ghost souls liked to reside.

"_Can you believe it? Black*Star's afraid of _bats, _of all things! I could never figure out why he wouldn't go into caves or ruins, even if it was for an assassination, but once I found out so many things made sense!"_

"_Damn straight!" Black*Star agreed. "They're creepy!"_

…

"Soul?"

"What?"

"What were you thinking about?"

"Bats. What is it?"

Maka was looking at the page with the scythes on it.

"I just figured something out! These scythes from the papers, they're not just scattered around randomly! Watch!" Maka took the page with all of the scythes on it and placed it over the Evans's family tree, which was in the book because of research on who were the scythes in the family. "It shows you who's who."

"That's cool, I guess." Soul took a pencil, writing the names of the scythes on the paper. "Sophie, Walter, Phillip, Peter . . . Solomon . . . and don't forget me. I'm on there too." He labeled his scythe as 'cool guy'. Maka snorted.

"Should you really be writing on that?"

"It's in pencil."

"How did Peter know what you would look like?"

"Don't know, don't care."

"Well I care! He even knew you were going to be a deathscythe. Do you think he could see the future?"

"I dunno, Maka, he was insane when he was making these." Soul said, knowing full well that Maka would continue asking his opinions on her theories. It was a distraction, he knew. Hearing his wife's endless chatter would prevent him from brooding on this stupid curse thing. Soul snatched the page away and examined it. He recalled picking that scythe, his scythe, as his favorite for some reason. Should he have known, or was it just by chance? His model _was _cool, after all.

"Yeah, you're right…" Maka said, and theorized, "Maybe you have to be insane to see the future?"

"Well, did _you _see any future when you went insane? If I recall, you just tried to eat Chrona!" He scoffed. "It doesn't matter anyway. Figuring out _how _this was made isn't going to help us figure out where to find Solomon's soul."

"Egypt's a good as place as any to start looking. That's where Granny saw him first."

"I hope you're right."

…

"Do you even know where we're going?" Soul groaned from the heat. He was in charge of driving the all-purpose vehicle Kid reserved for them, a job that he detested. It wasn't as cool as his motorcycle, of course. Driving on the sand wasn't exactly comfortable either.

"We have to take a left at the Anubis pyramid. It should be right here…what the hell is that?"

Soul skid the vehicle to a stop, looking at the destroyed pyramid. "What happened?"

"Hey, didn't Liz say they destroyed a pyramid on a mission?" She also said that Kid had been very upset because the place was perfectly symmetrical. Typical Kid! And they were so close to actually collecting some souls…all of their previous missions had ended up being confiscated.

Soul face-palmed. "That explains why he was so upset about us coming here…let's go." He quickly revved up the truck and took a sharp left.

"You are a _terrible _driver."

"So you've told me." Soul replied a tad sarcastically. Maka was always hounding about him driving too fast or taking turns too sharply. He had gained the ability to tune out her nagging, about this topic at least.

"Hey look! That must be it!"

Soul parked the vehicle as they surveyed their destination, a canyon full of deserted buildings. One was an arch, built out of carved stones that looked like it might lead to a cave. From what they could tell, that must have been the entrance.

"Just think, Soul, your grandparents met here! Isn't that cool?" Maka said excitedly. "And she performed an exorcism in that cave! Let's go check it out!" She made sure to grab _Observations of the Soul Exorcist _first before they left; it was a reference and also her new favorite chopping weapon. It was thick enough to do some severe damage.

"Yeah," Soul agreed. Of course, what Maka said was pretty cool, but he was more focused on whether the soul they were looking for was in the cave. He flicked on the flashlight when they entered. Soul pinched his nose. "Ugh, it stinks in here!"

"Get over it."

The man navigated around a puddle of water and noticed a suspicious mark on the cave wall. He almost ignored it, but somehow he felt it was important, so he jogged his memory to see if Maka (or anyone else, he supposed) had already told him what it was. "Hey, look at this, Maka."

She came over quickly. "I know what those are! Those must be the slash marks that Dr. Evans described. He said that they were too big for a normal weapon of that time, so Granny had a hunch it was a Demon Weapon instead."

Soul traced the curve of the scratch with his finger. "Huh. Gimme the Last Score, will ya?"

His wife, confused on his intent, pulled them out of the book where she kept them for safekeeping and convenience. Often she compared notes from the book to what was written on the strange pages to see if she could discover anything new. Maka watched as he too compared the notes to the mark.

"Shit, I hate it when I'm smart." He cursed himself. "Check it out, Maka."

"Aww, but I love it when you're smart! What is it?"

"I've been a scythe longer than you have, Maka, so let me explain. Stand here, and picture you holding me, K?"—He pushed Maka a few steps back and moved her arms—"Now imagine a hit from below."

Maka mimed the movement, wondering what the connection was. "It matches! It looks like it was made by a scythe! You can tell because a sword wouldn't work that way!"

Soul nodded with a smirk, triumphant despite all this being rather nerdy. "Three guesses on who it is."

"Solomon Evans was here." She gasped. "Let me use my Perception, and I'll check if he's still around." Maka looked around everywhere, and finally got a hit: right in front of her. She froze.

"What?"

"There's a ghost soul right here."

"Well, then, exorcise it!"

"Let's see if I can do this…" Maka said, focusing deeply on the dead soul's wavelength. It was fainter and older than the one she'd dealt with before at Soul's family's house in Las Vegas. However, that exercise was just to see if she could sense that soul, not exorcise it. She was using all that she remembered from the book.

_OK…now I just have to calm my wavelength down…_

Well this was good news. She was in a Soul Room. Maka was also optimistic that the room had a similar feel to Soul's; they both shared the checkered floor and instrument theme that she figured all of the Evans had in their rooms. Where Soul's Room had a piano, this one had a giant cello, worn down with age.

"Hello? Anybody home?" Maka called.

A tall and slender woman appeared. A woman? "I'm not who you're looking for, exorcist. You seek my ancestor, Solomon."

"Then who are you?" Maka asked, disappointed.

The woman smiled, revealing sharp teeth. "My name is Sophie Evans. And no, I do not know where Solomon is. He is one of the reasons I decided to stay."

"Do you have any idea?"

"First I will tell you about myself."—Maka inwardly groaned, fearing a monologue coming on—"I am one of the few female Evans scythes. Stupid people think males are better, but I showed them! I was the first in my class to become a Deathscythe!" Sophie bragged.

Well, at least she was smart, so Maka liked her.

"Then I heard a rumor from my great-grandpa that there was a curse, so I set out to find it. I found Solomon, but I couldn't exorcise so it was useless. So, in the end, I lost my powers, but I had my friends and family to support me. Even _if _they had doubted the Female Scythe." She said. "Do you know anything about the next generation of Evans scythes, exorcist?"

"Oh, well, there's going to be a boy and…maybe a girl." She choked, remembering what Soul said about his dream. The boy referred to Wes's son Devon.

"Good! I needed to know there would be another! Now, if you want to exorcise me you must promise me you'll exorcise Solomon. Then, my wishes will be complete and I will leave this world. Can you do that?"

"You don't have to worry about that, Sophie Evans."

The woman smiled and began to fade away along with her Soul Room. "I wandered a lot looking for him, but whenever I found him I still couldn't do anything. He's so strong. I actually spoke with him once; he was going to the United States."

"Where, exactly?"

"On the West Coast…Portland. He said there were a lot of other ghosts there."

She disappeared and Maka was thrown back into real life, where Soul was watching, trying not to look too worried. He smiled when she returned, hoping for good news. Instead, he had to conceal his disappointment.

"Sorry. It wasn't him." Maka finally said.

"WHAT? Then who was it?"

"That was the soul of Sophie Evans. She was looking for him too, and told me that we should look back in the States next, because he said he was going there. And…"

"And?"

"Never mind." Maka wanted to tell him about her mentioning to Sophie that they would have a daughter. _A _little _girl who looks just like you but with sharp teeth! _That sounded like what their child might look like. But, when Maka thought about it, she would want her to look more like Soul… Now she's done it. She had to see this girl.

"Um, Soul?" She said as they got in their vehicle.

"What's up?" Maka could tell he was keeping back emotion.

"When we get back to the hotel, can you draw the little girl in your dreams?"

Soul smiled.

…

His pencil strokes on the notepad were careful and precise. Soul liked to draw realistically, but he wasn't practiced in drawing people. He wasn't normally a perfectionist like Kid either, but he wanted Maka to see what the girl looked like.

"Stop watching me." Soul complained, not stopping.

"How did you know I was there?"

"I can hear you breathing. I'm almost done." The pencil stopped, and he looked over the drawing before giving it to his wife. "She looks like this."

He expected Maka to be amazed, and she was, but he did not predict what she said first. "Why are only some of the teeth pointy?"

"Uh…it's only the adult teeth that are sharp, and I lost my baby teeth very early. Freaky, don't ya think?"

"Well, I think it's adorable. In fact, when all of this is over, you are going to show me baby pictures." Maka ordered.

"WHAT?" Soul exclaimed. "What makes you so sure that's gonna happen?"

"Because I said so. What makes _you _so sure we're gonna have a girl?" She replied sarcastically.

"Because she looks cool." He said simply. It summarized all of his reasons, he felt. Was it possible to take a bunch of totally uncool things and make them cool? How Soul saw her clearly, wanted to speak to her, teach her how to be cool, and somehow make that cool? Everything was becoming a cool or uncool paradox lately!

"Soul."

"What."

"You're beginning to look like Papa when he talks about me."

"WHAT?" Soul rushed to the bathroom and stared into the mirror. He saw nothing. "Maka, you liar!"

"You were! See, you were smiling like this and your cheeks were all pink!" She stood behind him and manipulated his face so he could see. Soul panicked.

"AH! This is the worst possible thing! How am I ever going to be cool again? NO! I can't act like him!"

"Well, quit overreacting. He does that." Maka answered, resisting the urge to Maka-chop. She hadn't chopped in so long…she just couldn't hold it in…"MAKA-CHOP! Soul! Get your cool back together!"

When he finally regained consciousness (only one minute this time; a new record) Soul said, "Say, Maka, you know our original mission to make me a better Deathscythe than your Dad?"

"What about it?" Maka was glad to see that Soul's cool was back.

"I thought of a new mission. I will be a better father than your Dad!" Soul proclaimed. "If that's OK."

Silence for eight, terribly long seconds. Soul felt extremely uncool again, but not as uncool as when he was acting like Spirit. Just as he was about to sense death, Maka laughed.

"Soul, _anyone _would make a better father than Papa!"

"Yeah. You're probably right."

As Maka giggled, she tried to figure out why he was always going on about this, even when they were on a mission. A mission to save himself, for Shinigami's sake! Wasn't Soul thinking about that?

Oh. He was distracting himself by thinking of his dream. And now she's shot down the idea once again, after getting his hopes up by asking for him to draw the girl…Maka was an idiot.

"I still wish you could see her. My drawing's not so great."

"It's possible that I could see your dreams." Maka said. "If we went into your Soul Room's Memory Theater, you could remember your dream and I would see it."

"But the passageway between our Soul Rooms is locked!" Soul reminded. "We locked them after our souls almost overlapped!"

Maka smirked Soul-style. He hated when she did that. On her, it just looked creepy. "There's where you're wrong. Don't you remember how adamant I was that we used the vows meisters and weapons use? I've given you my soul and you've given me yours. I think that should allow us to pass once more."

"So, then, when Shinigami used his powers to bind us…" He put the pieces together.

"Yep!"

"That's why _you're_ the smart one and _I'm_ the sexy one."

"Keep telling yourself that." She snorted. "Go to sleep. I'll meet you in your Soul Room."

…

As she had thought, the door back to Soul's Room was opened once more. After their last misadventure that involved the Soul Rooms (which included tea parties, giant soul wavelength machines, and Maka fighting in her underwear) they decided to simply lock the doorway that allowed them to travel between each other. There weren't any temptations that way. Now that Soul's soul was hers, she was able to cross once more.

_Sound or unsound, my mind, body, and soul belong only to you._

She surely remembered the journey through the dungeon-like hallway as much shorter though. Soul was waiting for her at the end, though, and he led her straight to the Daydream Room. To Maka's relief, Make-out Maka, her clone Soul created to, well, make out with, wasn't there.

"C'mon." Soul said when she arrived, leading her to his memory theater. He would show her the memory he had of his dream.

"Hold my hand?" The Soul on the screen said to Maka, looking nervous and therefore uncool. They were still in that place that looked sort of like their apartment but different.

"I'll hold Papa's hand too!" The blonde girl said.

As Maka watched the little family, her eyes grew warm and happy up until Soul lost his powers, where she in turn gained a feeling of dread.

…

…

…

Bedtime Stories

"Granny, tell me the story about Grandpa again!"

"Goodness, Solomon! I tell you that story every night! Why do you like it so much?" The woman pulled up a chair next to the young boy's bed.

"'Cause Grandpa's cool! I only listen to cool stories. DUH." He explained, as if the answer was obvious.

"Well then, I suppose I can tell it to you again. Where do you want me to start?"

"Start at the beginning!"

She sighed dramatically. "Well, your Grandpa Evans was a really cool guy. He had white hair and red eyes, just like YOU!" At this she started to tickle her grandson's belly, causing him to giggle.

"Granny! Stop it!" He laughed. When she finally let up, he said, "Hey Granny, did Grandpa have sharp teeth like mine?"

His elder was surprised at his question; he had never asked too much about his teeth before. Or, as his dentist liked to call it, his "dental dilemma". But that's a story for a different time.

"No, he didn't."

"So Grandpa looked more like Wes?"

"Maybe a little. But your teeth are really cool!"

Solomon nodded sadly, lip trembling a bit. "Wes makes fun of my teeth. He says they're weird."

"Oh, sweetie, they're not weird at all! They're special. It's part of who you are."

He wasn't quite convinced.

"Soul, it's OK. I know that your teeth are cool. I know because Grandpa would have thought they were cool too." The young boy calmed down after that. "Wanna hear the rest of the story now?"

He nodded.

"All right. So, a long time ago, there were three best friends, and they went on adventures together all over the world. One was named Oliver Gray. He liked money but was good at heart. One was Georgia Douglass, who was very kind—"

"That's you!"

"Yes. And the other one was Dr. William Evans, who liked history—"

"That's Grandpa!"

"Yes! Now shush, I'm trying to tell the story! Unless you don't want me to anymore, that is."

"No, no! I'll be quiet."

"Good. So anyway, the three friends travelled everywhere, looking for haunted houses or other spooky places like that. Places with GHOSTS! BOO! They were really happy together and had a lot of fun.

"But one day, Oliver didn't want to go with them anymore. He said that he was tired of traveling around and being with the others. Georgia and William insisted he change his mind and stay, but he left and didn't tell them where he was going. They were sad for a while, but decided the best thing to do was to keep going and that maybe they'd find him again. So life continued.

"One night, at dinner, William said he had something to ask Georgia. He got down on one knee and asked her to marry him—"

"GRANNY! Don't tell me the icky version!"

"I thought you said you were going to listen." She reminded gently.

"Sorry."

"Anyway, he asked her to marry him and she said yes. They went back home and announced it to their families and knew that Oliver had to come to the wedding too. They found out his telephone number and called him.

"He said congratulations, and that he was very happy for them, but he was too busy to come to the wedding. It was too bad, but they'd catch up later.

"Luckily, 'later' was soon! They were going to meet up during their next stop—that's right, Georgia and William kept on traveling after they got married—but they didn't know something bad was going to happen.

"They were going to meet Oliver at a church someplace in Italy. It was really famous and spooky. It was dark outside, and Georgia and William were going to be late. So, they decided to take a shortcut in an alley.

"Unfortunately, a group of people were fighting near there, and the pair could hear gun shots. They ran but suddenly at the end of the alley an unknown man was waiting for them, and he was pointing a gun at Georgia! The man pulled the trigger, but William wouldn't let that happen, so he jumped out in front of her and said, 'forgive me, Georgia' as he fell to the ground. The man with the gun ran off.

"Georgia pulled William into her arms and cried. Oliver, hearing the gunshot, quickly came to investigate and found them. She explained what happened.

"'I didn't even get to tell him that he was going to be a father,' Georgia said, 'I was going to tell you both at the church'

"'I wanted to apologize to him for what I said before I left' Oliver said.

"They paid their respects and decided to not be sad, because that wouldn't be what William would have wanted. So Oliver went back to his work and Georgia raised her son to be a smart man. That's your Dad, by the way.

"And, of course, when he said I was going to be a granny I moved in here to be with you and Wes." Her story was now in 1st person and was spoken in a slightly saddened tone. "Grandpa was very brave and that's why he's so cool. Do you think _you _can be brave?"

"Does that mean someone has to shoot me?" Solomon asked innocently.

"No, sweetie."

"Then how will I know if I'm brave or not?"

"You'll know when the time comes."

"That's not an answer!" He pouted. "Thank you for telling me the story!"

Author's note: Portland's hot right now for shooting TV shows. Why not fan fiction? Also, baby Soul is freaking adorable. Don't _anyone _say otherwise.


	8. Chapter 8

Soul Exorcism!

Chapter 8

A message for Soul! What is normal and what is not?

The phone was ringing. Without checking the caller ID, a groggy Maka picked up her cell phone from the bedside table. She didn't bother turning on the light. "Hello?"

"Maka! I need to talk to you!"

"I was trying to sleep, Papa." Maka sat up a little straighter and switched which hand she was holding her phone with. The hand she picked it up with was asleep, along with the rest of her arm.

"Maka, this is urgent and very important." Spirit said seriously into the phone. By his stern voice, Maka believed him, and shushed Soul when he told her to hang up and let him sleep. "I just got a phone call from Kami and—"

"Papa, I _told_ you I _don't_ want to talk to her!"

"She said you were in danger! She overheard some suspicious-looking guys talking about you. Obviously she wanted to call you, but she knew you wouldn't answer…Maka, she's really worried. I'm worried too. Is it possible for you to come back to Death City?"

"No; helping Soul get rid of his curse is more important than my safety. Besides, I doubt these 'suspicious guys' could take on two three-star meisters and their deathscythes." She said haughtily. At this, Soul felt guilty that she was risking her safety for him. Yet she was right; the two of them were really powerful. He shouldn't have to worry about safety. He would protect her.

"Still…why don't we compromise?"

"I'm listening."

"Why don't you let us help you? We can make sure you're safe and help look for the cure to Soul's curse." Spirit suggested. "It would mean a lot to me and your mother especially."

"Let me ask Soul first." Maka put a hand over the phone to keep their conversation private. "Soul, Mama and Papa want to come with us."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know…I was just thinking the more people that are looking the better chance we have of finding the soul…Mama's Soul Perception is almost as good as mine…"

"But she hates us. And Spirit's annoying."

"I _know, _but…look, if they aren't helping we can always tell them to go away." Maka said.

"I don't want you to force yourself to work with your mother right now. She was very cruel to the both of us. Hell, I don't want to work with her."

"Can we give them a chance? We'll just think of them as fellow Shibusen members."

"…Fine. Now let me sleep."

Maka reported their agreement to Spirit, who was overly excited as expected. She told him that they were headed back to the States next, and agreed to meet there. It was going to be rough, Maka knew, but somehow she felt that she had to take this chance. Perhaps facing her mother would be a good thing.

"Let's go out. Tomorrow's going to be uncool."

"That's a great idea." Maka agreed, already anticipating enthusiastic emotions from both her mother and father. Well, Spirit had gotten better over the years, but from the amount of phone calls Kami made, she would probably be crying for forgiveness. Maka wasn't sure if she would forgive her yet. First, she would see what she says.

…

After they had arrived at their hotel in Portland, Soul led Maka to a restaurant they were recommended to go. Once again, she couldn't help but marvel over how big and strange his hands were as they walked together. It reminded her of when he held her in her weapon form; possessive as always yet also gentle. She felt his touch in her soul, and that made it all the more intimate.

She asked him once if he felt the same thing she did, when she ditched her gloves. That was early on during their "dating" phase; they were beginning to explore how much had changed with their new relationship status. What was acceptable and what was not? They began with asking deeper and more personal questions that they dared not even to mention before.

He contemplated for a long time, but seemed to remember. "There was one mission. When we were fighting, you lost one of your gloves. You were so pissed!"—he laughed—"But, ah, anyway. You held on to me again, and then BOOM! Everything changed! It was like…"

"Like what?"

"It's embarrassing."

"C'mon, Soul, you can tell me!" Maka insisted. "Even if it's really uncool. I won't even laugh; promise!"

"I could feel you touching my soul. And I thought, 'That's Maka! That's your meister!' I think we resonated a little, just from that. So—and don't kill me for past crimes!—I started trying to ruin your gloves, but you kept buying new ones so I stopped." He admitted.

"You should have told me! If you had said that you liked it, I would have stopped wearing gloves."

"No you wouldn't. You would have Maka-chopped me for acting uncool."

Knowing he was right, Maka made a quick decision. In a motherly voice, she said, "Let me hold you, Soul." He carefully transformed; they were in their apartment's small living room, and he didn't want to break anything. (That had happened before, and it was not pretty.) Maka placed the scythe on her lap and was surprised of how unblemished the metal was. She pet the scythe a few times, and Soul bent his eye up to watch her better.

Then, Soul chose to try the impossible. He stretched his human form out as far as he could while still maintaining his scythe mode, which was the stomach up from the blade. Maka was shocked when he used his arms to bring her face down so he could kiss her. She closed her eyes into the kiss, trying not to think of how strange this might look from the side.

"It feels like this." Maka agreed softly, determined to not forget that touch.

The scythe-boy untransformed the rest of his body so he was sitting next to Maka, not wanting to sit _on_ her. Maka was strong, but Soul knew he was heavier than her. He was very tall, even though his slouching made it look otherwise. Soul ran his hands through her hair as Maka reached for him.

"It feels like this."

Everyday onwards he always, always reached for her hand if they were walking together.

"Do you think it feels like this for normal humans too, Soul?" She asked as they neared the restaurant.

"What does?"

"Holding hands." Maka explained.

"I guess we'll never know, will we?"

As they ate Maka tried to discuss with Soul where exactly they should start looking for the ghost soul. Soul, on the other hand, was a little tired from the flight and was also hungry. In revenge, he gave her a look and ordered a glass of wine with his dinner. Maka hated when he drank alcohol.

"I still can't see how you can stand that stuff."

"It's better than that crappy beer Black*Star likes. Remember his 21st birthday party?"

Maka groaned, thinking about how their ninja friend had downed who-knows how many cans. At first, he was strangely quiet (a huge improvement in Maka's opinion) then vomited everywhere _but_ the toilet and passed out. Kid freaked out, obviously, but not about the vomit; Black*Star's pose was unsymmetrical.

Maka still thought the worst part was that Tsubaki insisted she clean it up by herself. The ninja weapon figured out Maka was too hung-over to clean properly, but she was too polite to say it.

"Gimme that." Maka commanded. "I don't want to think about that anymore."

"Oh, but don't you remember what happened when we got home~?" Soul poked Maka, teasing. "'Cause I remember clearly!"

"Stop it, Soul, there are people here." She whispered violently. "Please be serious. I don't understand you at all! At first you were so determined to find Solomon's soul but now you're just joking around with me. Besides that moment in the cave where you figured out that the marks were from a scythe, all you've been thinking about is jokes and your dream daughter who we don't even know is going to exist."

His face fell. He had thought her thoughts on children had changed for the positive after she had seen the girl in his Soul Room.

"Oh, Soul! You know I didn't mean it like that! I'm just saying that if we did maybe we'd have a son or a daughter who doesn't look like that! Soul…"

"I know. It's OK. You're right; I've been a little obsessed with her lately." There were so many things that were going through his mind that always seemed to point back to a little girl who he had no name for. Soul wasn't sure how she could give him…hope…after witnessing that terrible nightmare every night.

That they would be OK? That they would live? Those things would go back to dare-he-say-it, normal? _Normal? What was that again?_

"Gotta take a leak." He lied, trying to avoid the argument for at least a few minutes as he thought about what normal meant. Why was he picturing the two of them practically acting out a scene from a dumb, cheesy movie? He could almost hear the 'Welcome home, honey!' in his ears, among the chatter of children.

But wasn't normal for them supposed to be continuing fighting for Shinigami? They had already decided that they would never have any other partner. It was only logical that they would fight, after that decision. Soul loved his life, loved his work. But Maka as a housewife? WEIRD.

Soul wondered how long he had been standing in front of the bathroom mirror. Far longer than he should have, anyway. Maka's probably worried he got up and left by now. He stormed out, blocking thoughts out.

"Soul, are you sick? You were in there for a long time. Do you want to leave?" Maka pestered.

"I'm fine."

She didn't believe him, that was for sure. However, luck was on his side, and from the corner of his eye, Soul spotted an unused piano, most likely used for bands if they would perform here. The modest pianist lifted Maka to her feet and nearly dragged her to the instrument, making her sit next to him.

"You're messing it up, stupid." He muttered playfully as Maka tried to play a duet with him. She was copying what Soul was playing, but at a second's delay, the song was now terrible. The pianist's wife had gotten better at the instrument, but would never be able to match her husband's ability.

"I know, I know, put more feeling in it…"

"Not that. You're copying me." Soul tugged a pigtail. In revenge, Maka tickled him until he laughed. His mood was much better now. "Damn it, why did I tell you I was ticklish?"

"You didn't."

They didn't notice a woman approaching the piano. She wore a professional blazer and modest pencil skirt in a deep red. She examined the couple, recognizing one of them. She fumbled around in her designer bag until she found an envelope.

"Excuse me, but are you one of the Evans brothers?"

Soul turned around, regaining his cool. "Who wants to know?" He supposed he should have been hiding if he didn't want to be noticed, or worse, identified as someone famous. Too late!

"I'm a friend of your Grandmother's. I have a message for you."

"Granny?" He accepted the envelope the woman handed him.

"Yes. We worked together. She told me you would come, and if I saw you I should give you this. That's right. My name is Ruby Russell."

"You worked with her?" The grandson asked, confused. It was becoming more and more obvious that he didn't know a lot about his grandmother's past. All that she had ever told him was that she used to travel the world with her friends. Well…he supposed she must have been doing _something _to support herself, but he figured it was something normal.

Normal until proven not normal!

"Yes, we both work for Destiny, we are both exorcists. Well, I work in the offices now, but she worked in the field. She retired after her husband died, poor man."

"You knew my grandfather?"

"Oh, yes, Dr. Evans was well known at Destiny! I remember how Georgia would always get jealous when he'd flirt with the other women. It wasn't a surprise when they got married! But then Oliver…"

"Georgia's teacher?" Maka put in.

"Oliver also loved your grandmother, but she only saw him as her teacher." Ruby said. "When he found out, he all but quit exorcising all together. He pulled himself together though, and now he's CEO of the entire company. Can't say I ever liked him, but I sure as hell don't now. He's a terrible boss. I've sent over twenty resignation letters, but he denies each and every one. Won't let anyone quit, for that matter."

Soul opened the envelope, which was addressed to him. Inside was a letter, written in familiar spidery, cursive writing. Definitely not forged, Soul mused, listening to the chatter of Maka and Ruby as he read.

"So it was a love triangle." Maka answered. "Oliver felt like a third wheel."

"Yes. It was terrible. They had such a great friendship." Ruby shook her head sadly. "I hate to see such good friends break up like that."

The younger woman took a sip of her drink. "They worked together for a long time. I know. I've read some of her diary."

"Ah, that diary! She carried it everywhere. But enough about the past. What does the letter say?" She asked, curious. "I didn't read it. She said to not let anyone else read it but Soul and his wife. Or, if they didn't come, take it to her son."

Soul looked confused, and slightly angry. "Well, you were talking about that Oliver dude? Turns out he kidnapped her."

_Soul. _

_I know you are wondering where I am. But please, before you do anything rash, listen to what I have to say. It is very important._

_Do you remember the story I used to tell you about the three best friends? You should; you used to ask me to tell it to you every night when you were small! You liked it because your grandfather was in it. I was the second friend, and Mr. Oliver Gray was the third friend who left._

_You see, when I first performed a Séance on you, and found out you were a Weapon—and you are a brilliant Weapon and I am so very proud of you—I asked Oliver for advice. He told me not to tell you about your weapon abilities; to let you find them on your own. I trusted him. He was my Séance mentor, my partner, my friend—there was no one else that I trusted more, besides your grandfather. _

_Anyway, if you are reading this, Oliver has probably kidnapped me. This is the least of your concerns. First and foremost, you must exorcise Solomon's soul! Unfortunately, I don't know where it is. I have complete faith in you that you will find it. You are the eater of souls. _

_Please, darling, don't worry about me. First, find Solomon's soul and exorcise it. Remember that I will always love you. _

_With love, _

_Granny_

"Oh my God!" Ruby exclaimed, while Maka kept her shock in her throat. "That can't be! Oliver's not the best guy, but he would _never _kidnap…what should we do? Do we call the police?"

"Keep it down! There's a second page, for you. It says that she'd like you to stay at work and see if you can get information. No police." Soul said.

Ruby was conflicted between doing what she felt was the right thing, or following her colleague's request. "I don't want to, but I'll do it."

"We're going back to our hotel. You should go home too."

…

Soul stared at the letter for a long time. He couldn't quite make sense of it. Why the hell would he kidnap her? More importantly, forget about her and exorcise the soul first?

"Tell me the story." Maka asked, disturbing Soul's thinking.

"The story?"

"The story about your grandpa. It was mentioned in the letter."

"Oh. Right. Um, Granny used to travel with grandpa and this Oliver dude. Then Oliver left, and they didn't see him again until after they got married. They were going to meet him somewhere but were late so they went through a shortcut. Some guy shot at Granny but grandpa stood in the way and died. I liked the story because grandpa was really brave and therefore really cool." He couldn't help but crack a smile at the memory of him as a little boy, being told the story. "I wanted to be brave like him."

"You really admire him, don't you?" Maka could tell by his soft smile and reminiscing attitude. She didn't see this part of him often, or when she thought about it, never had. She wondered if she'd see more sides of him now that they were married.

"You admired your mom when you were little, right Maka?" Soul asked, trying to get the attention off of him.

"Yep. When I found out I was a meister I knew that I had to be just as strong as her, but now…now I'm not so sure."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot. Probably shouldn't have said that…" He remembered that Kami had not approved of them getting married, and perhaps Maka didn't want to admire her anymore.

"It's OK." She changed the subject. "I read about your grandpa some in your grandmother's diary. He sounded like a really smart guy, and definitely brave like you said."

Maka thought about Soul's story about his grandpa. It explained a lot of the things that Soul did. He protected his friends, even at the cost of his own life. In fact, the way Soul had jumped out in front of her to take the blade of Chrona, back when she was evil, was even reminiscent of him, when he took the gun shot for the woman he loved.

Wait. If both events were so eerily similar, did that mean that Soul had loved her even then? Maka blinked her eyes a couple of times. Then why the hell would he still call her tiny-tits? _Well, if he did, maybe he didn't know it at the time. _Maka thought.

"I'm sorry for not being cool. I'm just—"

"I'll exorcise the soul and stop the curse, OK? I promise."

"…Yeah." He felt a little torn that Maka was taking his situation over his grandmother's. She was kidnapped, for Shinigami's sake! They couldn't risk asking Kid to send in another team; they didn't know what they were dealing with. Maybe Spirit and Kami might come in handy after all.

…

Maka looked straight at her mother as they met in the airport. This was the woman who told her she shouldn't marry the one she loved. This was the woman who did not attend her only daughter's wedding. The woman that she no longer admired.

No. That wasn't entirely true. Maka wanted to be powerful like her. But hadn't she proven herself strong, if not stronger? Perhaps her hero-worship had changed.

That wasn't all of the story, either. She always used to say that her mother was perfect, a loving mom. But the truth was, the truth that Maka never wanted to accept, was that she had abandoned her. That was not something a good mother would have done. She should have taken Maka with her, away from Spirit, that is.

Kami was a selfish woman, she realized. Maka could read it on her face. She could also see her plead for forgiveness.

"Maka." Soul said softly, squeezing his wife's hand. She squeezed back, understanding the comfort he was trying to convey.

Spirit, who had arrived an hour earlier on a different plane, walked by the couple to hand Kami a photo. She flinched, expecting him to glomp on her like he normally would, but instead his face was deadly serious.

"Your daughter looked lovely in her wedding gown. I'm sorry you didn't get to see it." He explained.

Kami was trembling. She examined the picture, which depicted the bride and groom in a formal pose. "So beautiful…"

"I dreamed that you would forgive me and I'd see you there." Maka stated bluntly.

"_Maka." _Soul said again. He could sense an explosion of emotions coming on, probably anger if he knew his partner right. Well, the explosion part was right; Maka and her mother burst into tears, clinging to each other in silent apology.

Spirit was crying too, for some reason. Contagious tears, perhaps? "Can I have a hug too?" He asked Soul.

"No."

His lower lip trembled and he glomped the albino anyway. Soul patted his back awkwardly and tried to push him away. Finally free, he inspected his body, as if it were infected with Spirit-germs. He'd heard of crazy in-laws, but these surely take the cake.

Maka and Kami let go of each other and returned to normalness.

"Your dad hugged me." Soul said to Maka, who laughed nervously.

…

…

…

Breakup

"Georgia, I wanted to let you know that our meeting's at eight-thirty—" Oliver announced as he pushed the unlocked door open. The television was on, so he figured it was safe to enter; Georgia was probably watching reruns of some stupid show or something. Personally, he hated TV, but for some reason she enjoyed it for reasons he just couldn't fathom. But today, it was not safe to enter her room, because she already had a guest, William.

Georgia and William sprang apart from their lip-lock when they noticed they were being interrupted. The woman blushed a faint pink, feeling guilty and highly embarrassed. Will sat up straighter, perhaps to make it seem like they weren't just kissing; they were just sitting in bed, watching TV.

"O-oh, I'm terribly sorry…" Oliver stumbled as his thoughts raced. He should have known Georgia loved William, not him, but his love for her made him forget that it was possible for her to be with another. Oliver was either a hopeless romantic or terribly naïve when it came to these matters. He figured that she must love him back, that it was not possible for her to not. Perhaps if he had revealed his feelings sooner… "I'll leave you two then."

He shut the door firmly as he left, walking briskly back to his room when he heard a shout.

"Oliver, wait up!"

Oliver stopped, despite how much he wanted to run back to his room and forget. "Since when, William?"

The white-haired man caught up, looking at the intimidating man with sadness. "Since October. Oliver—"

He was angry at himself now; that made it almost two months ago. _Two months _where he should have noticed! "You knew I loved her." He finally stated.

"I suspected," William answered with a sigh. He then tried to reason, "But you didn't say anything, or at least to my knowledge—"

"So you took her from me, didn't you?"

"No, that's not how it is, I swear!"

"I can't believeyou, you dirty Weapon's child, could have possibly seduced _my_ Georgia!" He stared the other man down, utilizing his height to its full potential. Dressed in all black, he would have made children run with fear if he gave them this look.

"I didn't _seduce _her; we love each other very much! And what's all this 'Weapon's child' about anyway? My father was a Weapon, yes, but that's certainly not a bad thing!" The albino felt his temper rise after such false accusations. If there was anything he hated in the world, it was misplaced anger.

"Weapons killed my family. All of them, right before my eyes as I hid, useless…They _slaughtered _them. They are a danger to society and they must be eliminated!"

"They're not all bad! My father saved hundreds of lives!"

"By murdering others!" He yelled. Will was silent for a long time, knowing that what he said was not true, and even though he wanted to rebuke it, anything he said would not make Oliver see reason and would probably lead to a fist-fight. (Which Will would probably lose, he might add, with a look at his scrawny arms.)

"My friend…"

"Hmph. She probably only likes you because of your pedigree." He spat, walking away from the conversation.

"Where are you going?"

"Away; clearly I'm not wanted here."

They never saw him again.


	9. Chapter 9

Soul Exorcism!

Chapter 9: Interrogation! Granny reveals her secret plan?

"Why do you want this Exorcist so badly, Oliver?" The secretary asked her boss.

"Ah, well, there is a soul that I keep in the Soul Storeroom that has been haunting me since I captured it. You might have heard of it. None of the other top exorcists have been able to connect with it, and I wondered if I should try someone new." Oliver said. There was, of course, another reason, but that was top secret.

"Do you know whose it is?"

"It belonged to a man named Solomon Evans. Now, go back to work. I have lots of things I should be doing rather than talk." He said carefully, not showing any emotion. The worker nodded and left his office, determined to share the new information amongst his fellow workers. Her boss knew this; the gossip was going to get out sometime, and it might as well be now. For all he knew, the others might not believe her words anyway.

The Soul Storeroom. It was a creation of his own design, for some of his new policies that he instated when he became CEO. No one was exorcising souls now. Now, field exorcists were required to bring in a monthly quota of ghost souls and put them in the Storeroom. Some of the weaker, younger exorcists worked in the Storeroom, identifying and keeping track of all of the souls there, trapped in glass or crystal for the time being. Glass was fine for passive souls, but angrier ones required stronger crystal.

Oliver adjusted the nameplate on his desk and continued researching on the newest exorcist, Maka. He only knew her name because of a dream he had. With his gift, of course, his dreams always held some sort of significance in the present or the future, and a dream looking for "Soul Exorcist Maka" was enough reason to start looking for her. He told his subordinates to forget about their quotas and search for the girl. (That is, if his dream was correct about the gender…)

There was simply _nothing _on the internet pertaining to a girl named Maka. He didn't even know a last name! Perhaps Maka was a nickname? Arg! It was just so frustrating!

Yesterday, though, he was going through the employee database, searching for anyone who might have trained the girl. He did, of course, come across a familiar name—

"Mr. Gray, sir, she is ready to be questioned." The secretary returned. Oliver smiled. Maybe now he'll get some answers.

…

Georgia was brought to a small room, containing only two chairs and a table. An interrogation room, she realized. Had she done something wrong? Well, she _was _put in a prison…

Ten minutes passed until her questioner opened the door and sat in the chair opposite her.

"Oliver."

"Georgia."

"Why would the CEO of Destiny Company be questioning one of its employees? Congratulations, by the way." Rising to such a position was a great honor, after all.

"Enough with the pleasantries. I have some questions for you. I'm sure you were aware I was keeping tabs on your grandson, Solomon. But he disappeared about ten years ago. Where did he go?"

Georgia Evans laughed manically. "Aware? Of course I was aware. But you wouldn't dare come after him while I was in his presence."

"Yes." He agreed reluctantly. "I know how protective you are of him. Yet I wondered how you were able to protect him after he disappeared."

"I knew that he'd have to hide himself, but _not knowing he was doing so." _She explained. There was no use hiding her plan now that Soul had been found.

"I don't follow."

"He hid himself while thinking it was all his idea. Going by _Soul Eater, _seriously! Do you honestly think he could have come up with that all on his own? _Eater of Souls, _it was easy to reinforce his role in the prophecy! Telling his parents he should play the piano so that he'd find the Last Score of Peter Evans? Ha! I knew eventually when he left for Shibusen on my _husband's motorcycle _he'll put Soul Eater as his name. He's been building an alias since he was _six years old." _She rambled.

"H-how?"

"Tell my boy something's cool and he'll do it without a doubt."

"But, Shibusen, don't they do background checks?"

"Phht, of course not. When you register you officially don't exist under the government's eyes. Meisters and Weapons don't exist."

"Then why even bother setting up 'Soul Eater'?"

"They're a school. Even if they don't exist, they must have a list of all their students. Who knows? You might get access to it. And besides, it's more fun this way." She smirked, eerily similar to Soul's famous grin. "You should see the look on your face!"

Angry that she'd caught him off guard, he looked away. "It doesn't matter." He said.

Knowing that she had the upper hand now, Georgia said, "But I don't think my grandson is the real reason I'm here. You would have been angry with me that I had hidden him, but you wouldn't have kidnapped me."

Someone started knocking at the door. Oliver rose from his seat and answered the door, annoyed that his interrogation had been interrupted. "Sir, the folder on the boy."

"Thank you." He said, annoyed. He was about to say something dramatic and cool and now he couldn't remember what it was. Damn. He had it perfectly memorized a second ago!

"No. Solomon is not the real reason you are here. You see, there is a rumor of a new exorcist that has come into power. Her name is Maka. All of my employees have sworn that they were not the ones to train her, but once one exorcises a soul the community is notified. After some research, I found that signs pointed to you."

"Me?"

"So, I deduced that you were the one to train her. You should have told me who she was. It is in your contract." He said, leaning in a bit in order to appear more dominant.

Georgia did not believe that was part of her contract, but that really wasn't the matter here. Yes, as an employee she should have told them so that they could welcome her into the company. Oliver had done the same for her, after all. "Yes. I trained her. But that was _years _ago, and no one has complained. Why now, of all times?"

Oliver smiled. "I am beginning a crusade, one that will be led by Destiny. It is best to have as many exorcists on my side, the right side, as I can. I will also need you, Georgia."

There was only one thing that the man was more passionate about than exorcising or money. "This isn't about—_Oliver, _we've been through this, Weapons _aren't _dangerous!"

"They are! They killed my family! I don't care what you say; they must be destroyed!" He got up and threw his chair to the side. Georgia was scared a little; since when has this gotten so extreme?

"Oliver…"

He slammed his hand down on the table, causing some of the papers to fall out of the folder about Soul. "Let me put it simply: tell me where Maka is. I know you know."

"I _could _tell you, but you'd never find it. The city she lives in can only be found by those who already know where it is. I don't even know."

"Do you have a name?" He pressed. "I can find out even if you don't tell me. So you might as well tell me now and save us both the trouble."

"Death City." She only knew of the name because of her research with William. No book listed the exact location.

"Death City." He repeated. "The City of Weapons? _That _City? Why there?"

"I'm not sure." Georgia lied. She was grateful Oliver wasn't watching her at that moment; she always blinked a lot when she lied, and he knew it. In fact, he was the first one to call her on it. Oliver was looking at the file with the spilled contents. A photo slipped out.

"Hmm, your little _scythe _is all grown up and married. You must be _so proud_ of a killer like him."

"Don't talk about Soul that way!" Georgia snapped as he read the names at the bottom of the photo.

"His next victim is…_Maka Evans? _ MAKA? You protect your grandson from the world and let him marry the next Soul Exorcist?"

"No one has the right to stop love." Georgia spat. "Just as Soul was destined to break the Evans Curse, he was destined to love Maka Albarn."

"I don't believe in destiny any more, Georgia. You of all people should know that."

"I thought we were discussing the Exorcist, not us." She hissed. "_You of all people_ should know that."

"I _loved you. _I still do." He said softly. "I don't want you caught up in all this mess. But now that I have her picture, it should be easy to find her. In fact, I think I have a better idea."

…

Over lunch, Maka and Soul told Spirit and Kami everything that they knew, which was pretty vague at some points. One thing was clear: they didn't have much time left, and they were appreciating the help.

Kami, when asked about the 'danger' that she had spoken of earlier, told her a story that strangely had to do with another part of their adventure.

"You see, Maka, all this time I have been undercover working at Destiny. Normally my job wasn't that difficult, I just went around and exorcised souls, but Shinigami wanted me to keep an eye on the company just in case. He was definitely right! We got an order to search for you, so I knew I had to warn you.

"I didn't know you had Soul Séance." Maka said.

"I do. Where did you think you got it from, missy? Not your stupid Papa, for Shinigami's sake! Let me explain what the power is. All people in the world have some degree of Soul Perception, even if it's just the feeling that 'there's someone else in the house' or 'someone's following me'. To get to the second level, the person must have the proper blood; some degree of meister blood or exorcism, usually. At this level, you can read the characters of the soul. With practice, you can also enter your Soul Room at will.

"Now, the third level is much rarer. This level is reserved for exorcists only. We can see the dead wavelengths a soul leaves behind. We can force our way into other people's Soul Rooms. That is what they call the exorcism process. Sometimes we only leave the metaphorical door to the Soul Room open and we can see inside the soul. That is the Séance. But this comes with a burden: it hurts our strength to do this. We have to practice. You as a novice can only exorcise one soul without draining all of your energy. Oh, and we have some degree of having dreams of the future." Kami taught.

"Why can I enter my Soul Room, then? Am I an exorcist too?" Soul asked, curious.

"You are not an exorcist, Soul. From my studies on Soul Rooms, your room opened to give you a haven if you were about to be swallowed in the Black Blood. It was a place for you to focus on controlling the Blood." Kami said.

Soul wasn't exactly sure if the term _haven _was appropriate for his Black Room, as he had dubbed it, but that was not what he was concerned with. Soul just didn't want the extra pressure associated with having more abilities. How did Maka handle it all?

Ah, well, he had his cool to look after. Speaking of, he quit asking questions (cool guys were supposed to know everything) and adjusted his pose.

"I see. So Séance is really just Soul Perception, but at a higher level." Maka summarized.

During this academic conversation, the two males of their group had left to gather the food when their number was called.

"Yo, Spirit, can I ask you something?" Soul asked politely, except for the 'yo' of course.

"Father-in-law!" He corrected.

"_Spirit. _I call you that because we are both deathscythes, not for any other reason." After the red-haired scythe stopped pouting, Soul continued, "OK, I guess I'd normally ask my Dad about this but you're the only father I know who's a weapon—"

"IS MAKA PREGNANT?"

"What? No! Oh, forget it." Soul slouched again. Despite himself, he continued, "How did you deal with it all? Right after you got married and had Maka?" Soul also knew that Spirit and Kami's marriage wasn't a smooth one. But it was still a marriage.

"You don't know what to do." Spirit said seriously.

"I feel so uncool. Damn, I'm even resorting to _you _for advice. I never thought that would happen."

The older deathscythe sighed. "You have to understand, Soul, that Kami and I got married because we knew she was pregnant. I told her that I would support her in any way, and she told me the only way she would trust me to do that was to marry her. We were very young.."

"Does Maka know that?"

"She suspects. She's a smart girl. But I do love Kami! I love her and Maka the most!"

"Yes, yes, yes. I know. Get on with it." It seemed to Soul that his story was a giant contradiction, but hopefully he could help in the end. Soul was desperate for advice.

"After we married, I was in the same place as you. I knew Kami expected me to change in some way, but instead I kept on doing what I always did."

"Flirting with other women?"

"Yes. So do you understand? You must change somehow. Your relationship with Maka has changed, so you must change as well. My little angel will follow your lead. I know as her father that you'll work out." He smiled. "Tell me, Soul, what kind of relationship did you have with your father?"

"He's a musician. I never saw him because during the day I'm at school and at night he's playing with Mom and the band." Soul said. Because Spirit had been honest with him with his life story he might as well too. "I saw him more when I was old enough to play with them too. Why?"

"The relationship between parent and child is very important! When can I expect my grandchildren? They're going to be so cute!" He asked.

"I wanna have kids, but I don't think Maka does, and it's her decision, really, but I keep pressuring her…here." Soul reached into his pocket and gave his father-in-law the picture he drew for Maka. Spirit was in love with it. "She has my teeth."

"YOUR TEETH!" The wanna-be grandfather roared.

"Is that a problem?" He snarled, sensing an argument.

"YES! She should look _exactly_ like my angel!"

"I thought you would like that! That means she's a scythe, just like me!"

"AND ME!"

"AND MAKA! Now give this back!"

"What's going on here?" Maka suddenly appeared to break up the fight. "Geez. I'd expect this from you, Papa, but Soul! Don't tell me you were taunting him!"

"I was just talking to him."

"DOUBLE MAKA-CHOP!"

…

…

…

Observations of the Soul Exorcist

"Georgia." Will placed a hand on my shoulder. "Please tell me what's wrong."

"I can't do it, Will, I can't do it without him! Why did he have to leave?" I've known Oliver for a long time now; we've always worked together and it's hard to adjust to not having him around. I was performing the Séance and immediately felt like something was missing.

"I don't know, Georgia. But I do know that you're powerful enough to defeat that soul." We stayed silent for a little while, until Will had the courage to break it. "I have something for you. Wait here, and close your eyes."

"Alright."

I heard him leave and go through his things until he found the object he was looking for. His footsteps returned, this time more quietly.

"Keep your eyes closed!" He said again, and I could sense him standing behind me for a bit. Awkward, but its Will. "Open!" He handed me a hand-mirror so I could admire his gift: a pearl necklace!

"Oh, Will, it's _beautiful…" _I gasped. On closer inspection, there were tiny rubies and diamonds also in the strand. I wouldn't have noticed them if not for their sparkle. "I don't know what to say, I mean, I—"

"It's for you, from me." He said softly. "Close your eyes again."

…

Here, Maka stopped reading, because she didn't want a retelling of Soul's grandparent's kissing. VERY AWKWARD.

"Hey, Maka, what's wrong?" Soul asked, coming out of the kitchen.

"Oh. Well. Um. I'm just done for today, that's all." She left the book on the coffee table and went to set the table.

Soul, highly curious, looked at the page marked with a bookmark. "_Too. Much. Information." _He shut the book quietly and joined Maka.

"I'm taking the zombiefied look as you just read what I did?"

"Yep."

No words were spoken for a long time. Soul silently cursed his grandmother; it looked like he wasn't getting any action tonight. Not cool.

…

VESSELS

A Vessel is an object in which an exorcist has stored some of their power. Storing some of your power can be useful when dealing with ghosts who like to steal your strength when you fight them, along with many other situations. It also boosts your strength.

Also, if you give another exorcist your Vessel, they may also use it to boost their own strength. Be sure if you are to do this it is with someone you trust completely.

Never lose your Vessel. It is best to use an item of great significance that you keep on you at all times. Most Vessels take the form of jewelry, because it can be worn.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The final chapter! Is it good or bad?

Sneaking around was not something Soul liked to do. Although he had gotten better at creating strategies as he had aged and also had began his meister training, facing the problem head-on was still his preference. Especially since their mission was to free his grandmother.

It had taken a while to convince Maka that their primary goal would be to rescue Granny, not find Solomon's soul and break the curse. Maka argued that it was Granny's wish, and they should honor it, but Soul was stubborn. He had somehow out-stubborned Maka! It didn't help that Soul had only smirked when his wife had threatened him with the silent treatment or eventually kicking him to the couch for a week. He knew that Maka wouldn't stick to it. She also knew that he would ignore her threats.

And so, Maka, Soul, Spirit and Kami began their infiltration of the Destiny building, a formidable fortress in a sea of corporate offices. The older couple, making use of Kami's employee status, were asking around, listening carefully to the gossip and tuning out conversations about the latest TV show.

The younger couple, however, were exploring the building. Kami, having a few "contacts" HAD CREATED FAKE BADGES FOR THEM THAT ALLOWED THEM TO GO ANYWHERE IN THE BUILDING. They were currently checking out the lower levels, a basement that seemed the kind of place that might house a dungeon.

"Don't know why we have to sneak around like this. Why can't we just barge in and demand we know where she is?" Impatient, Soul turned on his hidden headset. "Spirit! Do you know anything new?"

Pause.

Crackle.

Pause.

"SPIRIT!"

"Maybe we're too far underground." Maka suggested. "Don't worry about it. Let's keep looking."

"But she could be in danger!"

"I know! Now quiet down; I think I hear someone coming." She pulled Soul behind a corner to hide. In front of them walked two young women, gossiping with the same impatient tone that Soul had.

"I wish Mr. Gray would hurry up and get my resignation notice! I've submitted it three times, but his secretary keeps 'losing' it! What bullshit. I suppose he 'lost' my paycheck too?"

"I'm behind on my rent because of this!" The second woman agreed.

"I've had enough! I'm not going to show up for work until he fires me. I don't care if he hunts me down; I need work. _Real _work, not slaving away in the Soul Storeroom…I'm supposed to exorcise, not label and lift boxes!"

"You mustn't leave! I heard there's a woman who used to work here that Mr. Gray's keeping."

"So?" She said dubiously.

"_He's going to kill her, _that's why!"

"What?" The woman gasped.

"Today. Near the Storeroom. Ruby told me; she's higher up in the corporate ladder so she knows these things…"

"What are we going to do? We have to help!"

Soul broke away at this point and said, "Tell me where they are and get outta here."

…

Soul was thankful that his meister training had improved his endurance. Where they were going was a far ways away and there was a lot of running to do. He couldn't have imagined how Maka could have done it all those years ago. He rushed in to the chamber where they were met by an unfriendly sight.

Oliver was standing over Soul's grandmother, gun poised to kill. They would have encouraged her to fight back, but from what they could tell, she had tried her best. The neat bun her hair was usually swept back in was undone, and the sleeves of her dress were torn.

"Granny!" Soul shouted in despair.

Oliver looked up and recognized the boy. He smiled evilly. "You must be Solomon Evans, the last of the Evans scythes! Welcome! This is perfect! My Georgia's greatest weakness has arrived!"

"Soul, get out of here! Leave me!" Granny yelled.

"I'm not going anywhere until you give her back." Soul stated. "So let her go!"

"You're too late, I'm afraid." Oliver responded, and shot the gun, leaving a puncture wound straight through Granny's heart. Her soul did not leave her body yet, so she was still alive, but was fading fast.

"NOOOoooo!" Soul cried. Suddenly, Maka was forced to jump away as blades came out of everywhere on Soul's body. The only place left un-bladed was his face, which was twisted in anger. "You _bastard! _How could you? She was your friend!"

"Therein is the problem, no? If she had chosen me, there wouldn't be any more weapon spawn like you! Weapons are dangerous! They must be eliminated! And now for the second part of my crusade…" The man reached for a glass ball that rested in aisles of bookshelves that seemed to go on for forever, smashed it against the wall, and grabbed the soul inside.

"Don't!" Even if the man had just killed someone close to her, Maka wasn't about to let the man become a prekishin and eat a human soul. Was it possible for him to do that? She wasn't sure, but either way, eating an innocent soul wouldn't be good…just how many souls were stored here in this library of sorts? It was quite the collection. Maka wondered why no one at Shibusen had noticed its existence before. Were meisters that could sense ghost souls that rare?

Oliver ignored Maka and swallowed the soul. "I can…I can feel the power! The power is overflowing! THE POWER!" The man's voice became disjointed and sickly. His face, too, now had disturbing features as if he were a living Picasso. The screams he emitted were unbearable; neither of the two had ever seen anybody actually _become _a prekishin before.

Soul let his blades retract, but he was nowhere near calm. His hand automatically reached for Maka's, a sign that he wanted to fight with her as the weapon. Silently, his partner obeyed, and Maka's deathscythe form was in his hands.

"Don't let revenge blind you!" Maka warned Soul in the dark space. "He's just another prekishin to fight!"

"I know." He rushed, striking the monster in the knee but doing no damage. His armor was strong! Soul continued to hit the prekishin with no luck. He just couldn't find a weak spot!

Soul was struck, and his back hit the wall. He slowly picked himself up.

"Soul! We have to try soul resonance! Perhaps the genie hunter will do the trick!" They had found in previous battles that Maka's special anti-evil wavelength could also be used by her meister, but only in resonance.

"LET'S GO SOUL RESONANCE!" The pair shouted. It felt stronger than usual, they thought.

_My mind, body, and soul belong only to you. _Maka remembered as her weapon form grew and changed into a bright blue. Soul rejoined the battle, jumping high to slash the blade through the prekishin. At the same time, a blade of his own making curved around the monster's legs, tripping him. Maka was amazed.

_He is an excellent meister! Soul is able to wield me and use his weapon abilities at the same time…his concentration must be very high! Unless…_

The man was insane. The burst of power from the resonance combined with his fury at the enemy had weakened his sanity. He continued his assault, balancing swipes with his scythe and when he had an opening, hurt him with his own blades. His plan was working, but as time went on his eyes became vacant and unseeing. Maka was afraid. Was this what it was like when she had gone insane during her second battle with Chrona? If so, she didn't like it.

"Soul!"

The albino giggled. "Look at him FLY! Hahaha! He's all the way over there now! I stabbed him SO HARD! Maybe I don't even need Maka-blade! Oh, but she wants to play too! Let's have some fun!"

Well, at least he wasn't attempting to eat anyone's head off. Yet. Soul began dancing around in circles, singing,

_Twinkle, twinkle, BIG BLACK*STAR_

_How I know how GREAT you are_

_Up above the world so high _

_Like a diamond in the sky_

_Twinkle, twinkle, BIG BLACK*STAR_

_How I know how GREAT you are…_

When he was finished, he stuck his tongue out at the prekishin.

"Maka?" His voice was behind her now, in the space between souls. "Help me up? I'm kinda trapped here!"

He was drowning in some sort of muddy substance. In madness! Maka immediately pulled him out, just as he had done for her so many years ago. "Soul! How could you let yourself go insane! Without consulting me first!"

"Is that what happened? 'Cause one moment I was fighting and then the next I was here and drowning _so _isn't cool. Thanks for pulling me out."

Maka pulled him in a tight embrace. "I don't want to hear you singing about Black*Star."

"WHAT?" Soul blushed. "Oh…well…It was just…our resonance was too powerful. I think I lost my concentration for a minute. Meh, that's why you're here, in charge of keeping my soul out of madness."

"My mind, body, and soul belong only to you, sound or unsound."

"What's this? Our wedding vows?"

"I was just thinking about it earlier, but I just figured it out. It's the true Soul Equilibrium. Our souls belong to one another's. Do you understand?" Maka smiled warmly. "We can use it now without worrying."

"LET'S GO SOUL EQUILIBRIUM!"

The two weapon-meisters generated their respective weapons and shot their special move toward the prekishin, who disappeared the instant the attack struck.

Soul ran to his grandmother's side. She had lost a lot of blood, but she fought on, wishing to speak a few last words. Soul knew she wasn't going to make it, but he wouldn't accept it. "Granny! Granny, open your eyes!"

"William? Is that you?"

"It's me, Soul." He corrected.

"Soul? I'm so proud of you. The battle…it was so cool."—her eyes blurred even more—"Goodbye, my little scythe."

"No! Granny!" Soul cried.

Maka, tears bubbling, went where the prekishin previously stood and took its soul. She wondered if Soul wanted to eat it, so she handed it to him. The man thanked her and ate it.

Something was wrong. Soul was crying. If he had ever wanted to cry, he always held it in, thinking about his cool first. Even that first night away from home he kept his tears inside—just in case his new partner, who was sleeping in the room next door, could somehow hear. Soul also remembered that he was supposed to keep his emotions in check if he wanted to control his new powers, but for him he just had to control his anger.

It was not a pretty sight, or sound. If anything, it reminded her of when she cried as a little girl, which was kind of embarrassing. Maka wasn't exactly sure what she should do. Should she try and comfort him? He might push her away. Should she leave? No, she didn't want to leave! She was sad too!

"Soul?" She asked cautiously. "We should probably go."

He didn't respond.

"Soul, _please. _I _need_ you." Maka pleaded. "You know I can't do this without you."

Her attention was swiftly changed when footsteps approached the door. To her relief it was only Kami and Spirit. They raced to join the others when they noticed the body. "Oh no…I'm sorry…if we had only gotten here earlier perhaps we could have helped…" Kami said.

The elder couple raced over to join Maka as she held on to Soul's hand, squeezing it tight to offer some sort of comfort. Soul, sensing the presence of Maka's parents, wiped the tears off of his face in an attempt to keep his cool. This action, however, revealed his now-bloodshot eyes. That, combined with the fact that his irises were already a bloody red, made his eyes look quite deadly.

They remained in silence for a few more minutes.

"Look at all of those human souls! There must be hundreds!" Spirit exclaimed. "We'll have to send these back to Shinigami."

"They must have been collected so that Oliver would have more power when he transformed. How terrible." Maka said. "So, then, this is the Soul Storeroom?"

"Yes." Kami said. "Solomon's soul is in here somewhere. You should be able to find it, I think."

Maka closed her eyes and focused her soul perception. So many souls! She felt the three other living souls around her before searching through the aisles of pulsing ghost souls. She searched far and wide for the oldest soul in the room, which she almost missed.

How strange! It had some sort of similarity to Soul's, only this one was angry where Soul's was sad at the moment. They shared the powerful feeling of a weapon, the slight sharpened feeling of a scythe. It cried out to her that this soul was related to her husband's.

"I know where it is." Maka exclaimed, quickly running to the correct aisle. The others followed behind, amazed that she had found her quarry in such a short amount of time. It had seemed like hours to Maka, but in reality it had only been a minute or two, depending on which person in their eccentric group was counting.

Positioned carefully in its own shelf, thick crystal contained a ghostly gray soul that could only be seen by Maka and her mother.

"Very powerful." Kami commented. "I'm not even sure our combined strengths could reach it…unless…she didn't leave you a…Vessel…of some kind? If she left the mission to you I would expect her to leave you some help."

"What?" Soul asked.

"She would have placed some of her power in some object so you could use it. And I could lend you my strength as well. This ghost soul is old and violent. You will need all the help you can get, Maka."

"Her Vessel? But I don't know…don't have…" She felt the familiar weight of the pearl necklace around her throat. It was the necklace, wasn't it? _She must have given it to me for this purpose! _Maka realized that she might as well be carrying a piece of someone's soul on her neck. And she'd left it in a _plastic box for all to see on her desk. _

Now that she knew, the feel of power surged from the pearls, concentrated at the garnet in the middle.

"I'm ready." Maka said bravely, her mother placing a hand on her shoulder.

She could feel herself dissolving into the Dimension Between Souls. Solomon's soul, pulsing only once, was ahead, and with her combined strengths, was able to enter his soul.

His Lobby was in disarray. Conduit missing, all that remained was an unkept red and black checkered floor and a lone wood chair. Solomon himself remained missing.

"Mr. Evans?" Maka called. "Are you here?"

"You're not that man…" A shadow of a man crept out from behind some threadbare curtains. His skin was so pale it matched his hair, red eyes making him truly look like a ghost. Maka was suddenly glad Soul's skin was tan. "Who are you?"

"My name is Maka Evans." She stated calmly. "I am here to exorcise your soul." It was quite a stretch from her usual "Your soul is mine!" battlecry she used when fighting.

"No! Not yet! You can't get rid of me! I have to kill her!" He was now furious.

"Kill who?"

"That witch, Cleopatra! She cursed me, cursed US!" He cried. "I have to—"

Now _that _was a plot twist. Cleopatra, the first witch Soul had ever defeated as a meister, was the one who cursed his entire family? Witches could live indefinitely, but…

"She is dead. You are free now."

"Dead?" Solomon exclaimed. "Are you _sure?"_

"Your great-great-grandson and I killed her." (She didn't know exactly how many greats.)

"I am free!"

"Yes."

The ghost faded even more, until the room became black.

…

…

…

Side Story

"Baby names . . . baby names. . ." Maka pursed her lips, bouncing a pencil back in forth to help her think.

"It has to be a cool name." Soul put in.

"Soul, no matter what we name our daughter it will be cool!" She snapped.

"Is there any special family-type names on your side, Maka? For example, Solomon unfortunately is a name lots of Evans guys had."

"Not really . . . all I can think of is my Mama, Kami. Sometimes you can translate it to mean god."

"We're not naming our daughter after her." Soul said. "Though that does give me an idea. Why don't we name her after some Greek goddess or something?"

"That's a great idea, Soul! Hmm…Artemis was the goddess of the moon. That's cool, isn't it?"

"Aphrodite. She's going to be beautiful."

"That may be true, but she will not be a vain, air-headed…dare I continue?"

"You're right." Soul agreed. He watched as Maka crossed out some previous ideas. Think, Soul, think! Who were the other goddesses? "Athena was the goddess of warriors. That makes sense, right?"

"She was also the goddess of wisdom! It's perfect! My baby is going to be a smart and wonderful warrior, just like her Mama. It's a perfect name for her."

"Now who's being a vain idiot?" He smirked, and tickled his wife's tummy. "Hello, Athena Evans!"

Suddenly, the door was smashed open, and a blue-haired ninja ran in. "SOUL! Don't tell me you named your baby after a god that wasn't me! You betrayed me!"

"Forgetting that you were spying on our conversation…you know about the gods and goddesses?" Maka asked while Tsubaki promised to buy (another) new door.

"Of course I do! A god should be familiar with other gods! I am the best out of all of them, of course!" Black*Star bragged. "So? So? Have you finally realized that I am the best choice for godfather?"

"This again?" Soul whined. "We _told_ you that Kid is the godfather, ok? Now get out of my apartment! We just moved in!" When they learned that their baby was on the way, Soul and Maka decided that their old apartment was too small to raise a child and bought a new one. It was a little farther from campus than their original home, but it had a nice view of the city.

"Soul, why don't we have _two _godfathers?" Maka suggested and then whispered. "_It would get him to shut up…"_

"Fine. Black*Star, you are Athena's godfather too."

"YESH! Tsubaki, did you hear that! I'm a godfather!" Somehow he looked almost as happy as Soul did when he first discovered he was going to be a father. He smiled and shoved his face against Maka's stomach. "Hello godchild! I, Black*Star, your godfather, will teach you how to become a god and stuff!"

"Yes, yes, yes, now GET OUT OF MY APARTMENT!" Maka yelled with all the force of the pregnant woman that she was. "Sorry for yelling, Tsubaki."

"Oh, it's quite alright, I'll just be taking _him _home now…goodbye Maka, Soul, Athena. I'll see you later."

Author's note: Arrrrg! Battle sequences, cheesy death scenes, and endings OH MY! Three things I hate doing all in one chapter! Well…at least this masterpiece is over. Please don't hate on me for killing Soul's Granny! I was actually going to have her die earlier (chapter four, can you believe that?), but then I got attached, and put it off. Well, that, and the way she was originally going to die was really mean. I was feeling morbid that day, I suppose.

I was also going to put in more about Maka's family, but then I got a little OC crazy (a great-aunt, great-uncle, aunt, and three cousins) and I normally hate doing OCs unless necessary so…I cut that part out. Ruby was definitely pushing my sanity.

Really, the hardest part was coming up with a villain and more importantly, his motive! Another possibility was that he was a weapon as well but that didn't make sense, and then for a while I thought did he want to kill Maka and Soul? Must've been the same day I wrote Granny's original death scene. But I also knew that even if he was evil, Maka and Soul wouldn't kill him unless he wasn't human! (Cause they're the good guys, and good guys never kill.) So I had to turn him into a non-human…can anybody explain to me how you become a prekishin other than eating human souls? I probably got it wrong, but that's my understanding of it. Maybe if you had to be a weapon to become one I can always go, "Uh…well, oh! That's right; he had some weapon blood in him! Just a little bit! Hahahahaha I win!" (Not really.)

There are still so many things left unexplained in the canon…but all I want to see is more Soma!

Anyway, I leave you with one song that is almost as annoying as Excalibur's:

_Twinkle, twinkle, BIG BLACK*STAR_

_How I know how GREAT you are_

_Up above the world so high _

_Like a diamond in the sky_

_Twinkle, twinkle, BIG BLACK*STAR_

_How I know how GREAT you are…_

Where did this song come from? The bachelor's party. Things got a little wild…

-Snow

PS I used to be a Kishin like you, but then I took a scythe to the knee.


End file.
